New Introductions

The Burtree Woman:

I did some research, as many people normally do, to find the right name for a blog. Naming things used to be a talent of mine (I had a philodendron plant that I named Phil once... but that wasn't my best name for something inanimate). They advise something unique, something that would sound catchy. For some reason I wanted something plant based and yet alluding to a spiritual context (though I am not particularly spiritual in any way, I think the nature part is coming from my resent fondness of gardening). So in my shoveling of the internet's vast wealth of "stuff", I came across a site called "Strange Lands". It's a UK site that delved into the mythical folklore of fays and spirits. The tree spirits part of the page I found really interesting.

Elder Mothers, or Burtree witches, are a type of tree spirit that, according to the site, invited images of an elderly tree that had rough bark and harped on humans for being such nuisances in the forests they inhabited. Sometimes they gave good advice and were sought for their wisdom as they're like the grandmothers of the natural world of forest spirits. As soon as I came to that conclusion, the memory of Grandmother Willow from the Pocohontas Disney movie came to mind. Laughable though it was, it sparked on something unique that resonated in my own personality. I'm kind of like that tree! Er...the Burtree spirit, not Grandmother Willow. Ha ha.

Grandmothers, or just in general elderly people, always have a way of being condescending especially when it comes to the younger generation it seems. Their stories always start with, "When I was your age..." and usually end in a lesson of "young people are selfish and so ignorant" and they keep on this rotating cycle. As you're reading this, you're probably going, "yeah okay, old people are annoying sometimes and don't understand me." but when they were actually 'your age' they were probably having an old person tell them the same thing... "you young kids these days don't know how good you got it!". Okay, Grandpa. Now, as a disclaimer, I'm not an older woman. I'll be 22 years old later this month actually. Though I do tend to share that nagging, condescending personality grandmothers tend to have. I enjoy knitting and have a pathological thought process that lends help when I need to lead someone into a conclusion. Like how Grandma's are when they guide you into understanding that you messed up big time and are straying from the respect they are entitled to. Anyways... I thought it would be perfect for my kinds of rants and general thoughts that I plan on publishing to my blog. I have good thoughts, at least sometimes and offer opportunities of enlightenment for taking the time to explore a different insight or opinion.

Other times, however, it's just confrontational opinions that others find issues with and then ignite the gunpowder spilled on the old wooden bridge between the town of My Reasoning and their town "Lack-of-an-Open-Mind-vill". I understand their misinterpretations, but I hope that if they turn their back saying "burtree witch would be more accurate than 'woman'." they leave with the understanding thought that even though they may disagree with me, may even be the kind to protest funerals or be the kind to say 'God hates you because of your terrible choice in shoes'...I will fight passionately for their right to express themselves. Because, even if I'm offended and will gladly give it a try to convince them to try my way at least once, I respect them for being who and what they are. Nobody is really perfect (except my Grandpa, he can fix anything and he's always been the strong quiet type with a magnificent mustache and tan). Okay that might have been a little biased...

Anyhow, this is my first post, my introduction to the blog (a real blog, my other blog is just a story I've been writing for quite sometime now). I will leave the thought at this because my plants look like they're getting pretty thirsty. The afternoon sun makes my patio nearly 90 degrees during the day and my plant babies don't really like it. Except the peppers, they handle the heat rather well. But they're weird that way...