Outside my window, a redbud tree rustles in the breeze, its branches affording me delightful views of ubiquitous house sparrows, unworldly sounding blue jays, insistent cardinals, and frantic wrens. And let me assure you, the wrens really do sound (and look) frantic, never ceasing their chattering and scolding no matter how early or late the hour. Besides being a popular avian meeting spot, this redbud is my seasonal calendar. Its April blossoms mean my sister’s birthday is two weeks away. When its seed pods are supple and green, it’s Corpus Christi time. Now, its heart-shaped leaves are yellowing, and thoughts of school come to mind, especially of one teacher in particular.
Take a peek in your backyard. Do you see him there, just by the tree? With his long white beard flowing over his green jerkin, a smiling snake for a hatband, and his trusty walking stick in hand, Crinkleroot is on an adventure. Jim Arnosky, Crinkleroot’s creator, began drawing this forest-wise guide in the ’70s, and was eventually convinced to put him in a story. The lines, “I was born in a tree and raised by bees, I can hear a fox turn in the forest and spot a mole hole on a mountain. I can track a flea through the fur on a bear’s back. I can whistle in a hundred languages and speak caterpillar, turtle, and salamander too,” have charmed untold numbers of school children, who found in Crinkleroot an enchanting guide to nature’s wonders.
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