Dogwood Tree

This Dogwood Tree is the only one I have been able to find in our town. Several years ago there was a trio of pink and white Dogwood trees on another street, but they did not survive. Dogwood trees just do not thrive in our area. I have personally planted nine of them in my yard and did everything possible to make them live, with no luck. This tree is old and was planted with only a small piece of dirt, surrounded by a sea of concrete. It is planted in direct sun, most Dogwoods I've seen are more in the shade of other trees. It is in front of the former funeral home building, so I figure that one of the Lockstone family must have planted it.

Every year I watch to see if it is going to bloom.

As you can see by the trunk it is quite large for a Dogwood.

Peering down in one of the holes, I see the trunk is now almost hollow.

Over the years some of its branches have been cut.

It might not look like it now, but once upon a time it was a beautiful tree.

Every morning it greets the rising sun.

On a recent trip to Arkansas, I was in awe at all of the Dogwood trees in bloom. Dogwood trees just grow wild there. The hillsides were just dotted with splashes of white Dogwood blooms, among the other trees. My brother was surprised that we did not have Dogwood trees here in Western Oklahoma. He was also surprised we did not have lightening bugs either. I told him the wind just blew too hard for them to fly around making their tails light up. The first time he came out to see us he said, "You guys don't have any top soil out here." I laughed and said, "Yes we do it is just red dirt not the black stuff you have at home."