Bob's tree

Bob's tree.

watercolour crayon and 

black marker sketch on paper

5 x 9 inches

Barbara Muir © 2020

Bob is a very nice neighbour who has lived behind us for many
years.  His house faces the next street over, but his backyard,
backs onto my next door neighbour's house.  He grew the
big tree in the drawing from seed I believe he said, when
a large section of the tree fell down in a tornado type storm, and
landed just shy of my next door neighbour's deck.

We were super upset because we love the tree.  But really
good tree people came, cut that part out, and the tree flourished.
When we sit on the bench next to our garage at the back
of the yard (one of the best and most private places to sit), we look
up into Bob's tree.  A big sheltering maple tree.  Wonderful,
and miraculous.

In fact one day in the spring when this beauty (only a small
part of it is in my drawing) first came out -- its leaves a
crazy, lush green.  I climbed on top of a turned over flower
pot to yell over the fence to Bob (we've rarely spoken) that I
loved his tree.  He was sitting on his deck, probably
listening to music through his earbuds, and didn't hear me.
So Steven joined me and yelled, "Bob!, Bob!, Bob!"
Bob looked up, and said, "what?"  And I said, "I love
your tree."  He looked a bit surprised and embarrassed.
After all we're in the middle of COVID. And he said,
"thank you."

I disappeared back behind his, and his neighbour's high fence.
And that was that.  So here it is in an inadequate sketch.
Bob's tree.  I set out to draw the laundry that Steven had hung
on the line, but the tree caught me, and that was that.