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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Creepy Tree

I moved to Clayton, California in October of 2009.  It's pretty far out there, nestled in the foothills of Mt. Diablo.  It takes about 20-30 extra minutes to get ANYWHERE.  But it's beautiful.  Every day when I leave the house, I pass the Seeno property.  It's this gigantic house perched on top of a hill.  And it's surrounded by trees and animals (llamas, emus, rams...).  On one side of the hill, there is a lone tree, which I dubbed Creepy Tree.  I started taking a picture of him every day and posting them on Facebook.  I was (and still am) amazed at how many people loved Creepy Tree too!!

Now, my friend Bat, takes issue with me calling him Creepy Tree.  Bat (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY, BAT!!) loves Mother Earth and believes that everything which comes from her is beautiful and sacred.  So he believes that Creepy Tree is actually a "she" and should be called the Wise Tree (or the Grandmother Tree).  I like where Bat is coming from but I love the name Creepy Tree.  So I sometimes call him Creepy Tree aka The Old, Wise Tree, but mostly he is CREEPY TREE!  Oh yeah, and the "he" stuck too.  Sorry, Bat!

Anyway, I now take photos of Creepy Tree daily.  He speaks to me -- kinda.  It just puts me in a good mood to take my daily photo and think about what Creepy Tree might want to say to his fans on Facebook that day.  I try to put forth positive messages, to start each day on the right foot.  I love hearing that people look forward to the photos of him every day.  We are looking into possibly making a calendar of Creepy Tree's photos.  I've had some people ask for higher quality images (most of these photos are taken with my iPhone through my windshield), so they can put them up in their houses.

Creepy Tree lives behind an electrified fence with a very wealthy family.  The Seeno family has developed a large part of the East Bay.  I know there are rumors that they are actually mobsters (compounded by the fact that the FBI apparently raided some of their offices recently -- you should have seen the firestorm of comments on Claycord.com!).  I know some people are also unhappy that their construction included ruining a stream or river.  I don't know their actual history and have no personal issues with them.  I just appreciate that they have this beautiful tree and haven't had their security question me about why I pass their home every day taking photos.  haha!

So today I pay homage to my favorite new friend, Creepy Tree.  Thank you for helping me start each day with a smile on my face!

[Also, you can join Creepy Tree on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/creepytree]

11 comments:

  1. You never know, you might wake up with a llama head in your bed.

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  2. Hello Creepy Tree.... we love you :)

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  3. I like the creepy tree.

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  4. lori - saw your "Creepy Tree" post and enjoyed it (we're tree people too. there's a dead tree you'd love at shell ridge that the acorn woodpeckers play in/hide acorns in during the summer and then eat from thru the winter).
    anyway, read it and loved it and went to your blog to read some more. you are a GREAT writer!! i had to tear myself away after several reads to get some work done. i am so impressed by you! and the girls are very excited to see you this sat and the following. mimi's already sleeping on your clean bed (sorry)... XO

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  5. Love the "creepy tree". The Seenos are part of my family, and the rumors are far from the truth. They're actually very loving, generous people who have worked very hard over generations. I'm sure if you were to contact them about your idea to make a calendar out of photos of this beautiful tree, they would have no problem letting you get better quality photos.

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  6. That's good to know! I'd love to go in and take photos! Like I said, I've had no dealings with them personally, so I don't know anything other than: they have a gorgeous home, with really cool animals and a great creepy tree!!! :-D

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  7. I'm going to use the creepytree2 file as a wallpaper for a bit. I love the different incarnations of this bit o' wooded plant. Kinda reminds me of something my silly brain sees when I read Poe.

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  8. That's awesome! I'm glad you are enjoying Creepy Tree too!! :-) I just uploaded another pretty cool picture to his fan page. You should check it out!

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  9. (So if you're Bat, you can call HER the Grandmother Tree or the Old, Wise Tree. And if you're Bel, you can just call him a tree-star, rockstar of all trees!)

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  10. Creepy Tree got a write up on Claycord.com!

    http://claycord.com/2010/07/15/the-creepy-tree-in-clayton-on-seenos-property-on-the-hill/

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