“Mom, can you help me get up this tree?”  Milo pointed at the lowest branch above his head, jumping and grabbing hold.

“Oh, you can get up there,” I say.  “Let me show you.”  I haven’t climbed a tree for several years now, but I used to be a spry tree climber.  I grabbed hold of the 10 inch diameter branch and hung upside down, pushing my knees up over.  I soon realized I was rusty in this technique, and it’s harder with a wide branch than the 3 inch ones I used to frequent.  I felt my hands slipping, imagined myself falling back first to the ground, and frantically re-positioned to kick the trunk and haul my torso up.  Phew.  “Just like that, Milo,” I said, standing and looking up the trunk.

Gazing up, I almost giggled in delight. Mint-green lichen, sporulating into the tree top with the blue sky beyond. Delight of the day.