Day 118: Planted A Memory Tree

 Here in the United States, today is Arbor Day.  Arbor Day is a national holiday in which people are encouraged to plant or care for trees as a way to improve the environment.  All around the country (and on other dates, around the world), people take the opportunity to make a positive change by joining groups committed to planting or replanting different types of trees.  Another tradition made possible by the National Arbor Day Foundation, is the ability to plant trees in national forests in honor or remembrance of someone. 

My wife grew up in Los Gatos, California in a house nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  The Santa Cruz Mountains are a sprawling forest home to enormous Redwood trees, lush moss, and wildlife like mule deer, foxes, and bobcats (the mountains are also home to the winery where I proposed to my Lindsey).  Once my wife and her brothers moved away from home, my in-laws moved to Corvallis, Montana which is a cozy little community nestled between the Sapphire and Bitterroot Mountains.  It is everything you imagine when thinking about the most serene, natural place possible.  From spending time with my wife's family, I know how much they love both of these places, and how much they love nature overall (my father-in-law especially did).  So today, for my random act of kindness, I am "planting" 10 native pine, fir, and cedar trees in memory of my father-in-law, John Bascom, in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California.  If you would like to plant a tree in someone's honor, you can at the National Arbor Day website.