climbing trees

I used to love to climb trees when I was growing up. Didn't you? There were two trees in particular that I loved to climb: one was a very large blackwood that had some planks of wood nailed at the base of the branches, making a makeshift tree house; the other was an acorn tree that was especially good for climbing and playing as one of its branches was horizontal and flat and wide, like an elevated platform.

This tree isn't as grand as those others, but that obviously doesn't dampen Jasmine's excitement. Being up a tree - regardless of the size - takes you away from the real world and into the world of nature. I always used to love the idea of shrinking in order to explore the magical world of gardens (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is one of my favourite kids' movies!). The scene from Disney's original Alice in Wonderland that sees Alice sink down into a field of daisies, looking up into the sky from beneath the flowers, is burned into my memory as one of the most fantastical things to experience. I just rewatched the scene, and interestingly she starts up a tree, before descending into the daisy field and singing about a world of her own where she interacts directly with nature. What a lovely idea.