The Learning Tree
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There was a place I would go when I wanted to be alone and free.
I got a home grown education sitting under a cottonwood tree.
It seems I might have been bored out there by myself all alone,
But there was always something exciting going on as I’ve shown.
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The Learning Tree
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When I was 11 years old living on Stark Street in Phillips town,
I sometimes went to a place we called the swamps when down.
There was a huge cottonwood tree there with lots of good shade.
Where I went for some quiet time to be alone as there I laid.
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While lying still leaning on the big tree, I learned a lot about things
I would sit and watch all the action going around that life brings.
There was always something interesting going on around there,
All you had to do was be quiet and watch the movement everywhere.
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One time I watched this horned toad crawl onto an ant bed mound,
He watched until he saw an ant crawling there on the ground,
Then out came his tongue and lapped up the ant with no sound.
He sat there and ate until no other new ants were there to be found.
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On another trip to my tree, I saw a chaparral lurking in the grass.
He cocked his head as if looking at something moving so fast.
Then he took off like a flash and came up holding a little mouse.
It was fascinating watching him catch a meal near his little house.
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There was water running through the swamp with deep puddles,
I watched a big bullfrog swim to the shore looking a bit muddled.
I watched him for thirty minutes until a dragonfly flew by his head.
In an instant, out came his tongue and it was inside him dead.
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On one of my trips, there was a red headed woodpecker in my tree.
He was pecking, putting holes in the bark just up above me.
He reached in his beak and came out with a big beetle kicking.
I guess this old tree had pretty good big beetles for his picking.
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I did spend a lot of time under that tree watching nature’s show.
On one occasion, there was a big spider making a webb grow.
A bug got caught and he ran over and paralyzed him with a bite.
In no time , he had that bug wrapped up in webb, a real sight.
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At times I saw lizards, snakes, crawdads, and a water dog or two,
There was cotton tails, raccoons, and several opossums too.
The wild life there was abundant because of the water there.
I think I loved this spot to sit much more than any other anywhere.
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Sometimes I sat under that tree whittling with my pocket knife,
Whistling at the meadow larks and the bob white quail so alive.
Perhaps I was a little strange for liking so much quiet time alone,
But it was better than my sister spending all her time on the phone.
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I did learn a lot about natures bugs and animals under that tree.
As I look back, I cherish the time I had, just being so care free.
That old tree where I sat is now inside the Refinery’s new fence,
I’m sure that learning tree has been graded away long since.
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By Bill
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Thanks for reading The Learning Tree,
Bill