Half Century + Trees!

Gentle Readers!

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Just a small note that we are 50 postings old. Thanks be being along with us on our journey.

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Its been a joy to share some of our life with you. We trust that you are blessed by taking a peek into the happenings - small and big - in the lives of the Eichers.

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We sometimes feel like the monkeys in the trees of the photo above (taken outside Shanti Kunj - Mum and Dad's place in Mussoorie). Where will we swing next? Which way does the forest stretch? What do we do about those strange creatures who live in boxes? The worlds we inhabit are at times strange - but we know where our future is taking us. The good news about eternity trumps all the sadness and strangeness around!

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Speaking of forests - here is Asha's speech for her elocution contest (to take place on Wed.). The topic was given to us parents - who have been transformed into resident speech writers.

Trees are our Best Friends.

Trees are our best friends! Why do I say this? Let me tell you the reasons!

A good friend shares everything she has.

Trees share with us.

They share their wood so that we can make buildings and beds and chairs and sheds!

They share their twigs for birds to make nests and their branches for hockey sticks and cricket bats.

They share themselves even through the odd pieces of their bodies - these are ground up into paper pulp - which we use to make books and newspapers!

A good friend looks after others.

Trees look after us. They stand tall and strong - their roots keeping the soil from washing away. Their leaves falling down and making the soil fertile. The forests working like sponges to keep the water from flowing too quickly to the sea.

Did you know that trees help us breathe? Their leaves breath in carbon dioxide - a poison for us - and then breathe out oxygen - which we need to live!

How well our friends the trees look after us!

A good friend gives joy to her friends.

Trees give us much joy!

Their cool shady branches help us live through our hot summers.

Their tasty fruits make many small children smile. Even poor children in the villages can climb up and pluck small sweet mangoes from the wild mango trees in the jungle!

The beautiful green of their leaves helps soothe our eyes.

Their branches and stems and roots are home for many animals - small and big.

But most of all - trees are beautiful - when we look at one of them - or a hundred thousand in great forests of the Deccan plain- we see that God loves the world - because he gave us such beautiful friends. When we look at them - we remember the beauty of the one who made them!

Trees are our best friends!

I wish we had more of them here...