Oakland Art Tree

Spotted last November in downtown Oakland, in a store window across the street from the fabulous Fox Theatre. Always meant to post but just kept putting it off. Made of discarded items, which is a big thing in Oakland.

Tarzan's Treehouse - Disneyland

Formerly known as The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. Whither Swiss Family Robinson? This has something like 90 stairs to climb so I've never been in it and probably never will. I don't see the payoff in the end. But it's nice to see a treehouse in the middle of Disneyland and I'm glad they've kept it going all these years.

Reminder: time to put your Christmas decorations away

See you on the neighbor's lawn next year, ol' chums...

Nutcracker Mouse Decor

One of the fabulous trees we saw at Vancouver, WA's Festival of Trees, held by the Vancouver Rotary Foundation at the end of November. This Fest. has everything you need for Christmas fun: Photos with Santa, a Festival of Gifts with local stores represented, a community tree lighting in Esther Short Park, a carnival, gingerbread dioramas (favorite: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory chocolate-river scene, made entirely out of gingerbread and candy), schoo choral groups from around Clark County, dozens of beautifully decorated trees, and a talking tree that chuckles when children tickle its branches.

I know I sound like a booster, but I brought my parents and my six-year-old to this event and everyone was pleased, even Santa when he watched my son whip out a catalog to show what he wanted this year (very efficient kid). Here's the Nutcracker Ballet tree. I usually don't go for white trees, but this one was pretty nice and it's the only photo that didn't turn out blurry because excited six-year-olds at Christmas Festivals tend to take blurry photos. Usually the blurry photos are my fault.

Big Lots Christmas is Upon Us!

I actually took these BEFORE Halloween at our local Big Lots! store. I couldn't bring myself to post them here until after Thanksgiving (of course, that didn't stop me from posting them elsewhere to make a point about commercialism, capitalism and Christmasism). It has been noted that these resemble the lot of aluminum trees in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" that causes Charlie Brown to become so depressed that he buys a raggedy little tree that needs a little love, further alienating him from his antagonistic peers. Get down to Big Lots! before they're all bought up!

The Tree of Life - Disney

I've had this terrible flu this week and don't feel like rejoicing in nature (or in much of anything, save Jell-O). Here's the completely gigantic and artificial Tree of Life from Disney World. If my digestive system were a tree, it would look like the close-up photo.






From Wikipedia: The Tree of Life is a massive fourteen story (145-foot) tall artificial tree that has been the icon of Disney's Animal Kingdom since it opened on April 22, 1998. Engineered from a refitted oil platform, it is located in the center of the park. Its leaves are made out of Kynar. On the exterior of it are carved images of three hundred twenty-five animals. Inside the Tree of Life is "It's Tough to be a Bug!," a 3-D film from "A Bug's Life." It is similar to the tree of Rafiki from The Lion King, though on a much larger scale. There is a hidden Mickey on this tree.

Source: Wikipedia and some Disney World site.