Big trees, less excess...

I've been home for 11 days now and I have to day that I seriously miss life in Europe. Even though I didn't really know my German neighbors, never took anything resembling a shine to the language, and spent the majority of my time on base (i.e. surrounded by 50,000 more Americans), exposure to the German lifestyle was still there, and it's something that I miss.

So much of what I've seen in the states over the last week or so has just blown me away. The excess here makes my head spin and the lack of displayed intelligence is bothersome.

And so, I am trying to focus my attention on the little bits and pieces of German culture (a love of and respect for the outdoors, actual conversation with other humans, and reserve in consumption of "things."

I've spent some time wandering around my old haunts, looking for fun places to photoshoot, and I immediately gravitated to the spot where these photos were taken. It is at a park near my mom's house on what used to be a huge farm. While much of the land was completely cleared to make room for McMansions, this spot has been preserved and I love how big around and how tall these trees are. I'll try to pop back over and get some more snaps of the REALLY big ones soon. In the summer time, it is difficult to get close to the trees, because the grasses grow long and are full of ticks (I got my first, and thankfully, only tick out here years ago). It was a good time to step back from the ridiculousness that has become suburban American life.