Why does the willow weep?
What secrets does she keep? –Ruth Elaine Schram
As I thought about a photograph for this week’s Thursday Tree Love, the weeping willow I captured five years ago [while roaming the neighborhood] insisted on my taking note of its character. Though the tree seems weak with its weepy, leafy branches, it is actually flexible and strong.
Considering the last several months–point taken.
I have a writing deadline to meet [eek!] and [therefore] no time for a longer post. Instead, I’ll leave you with “Interesting Facts About Weeping Willow Trees” and my favorite [and totally awesome] willow songs–Billie Holiday’s bluesy “Willow, Weep for Me” and Ruth Elaine Schram’s wistful “Why Does the Willow Weep?”
Enjoy!
I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.
Pics and Posts 
There was a weeping willow tree in our back yard when I was a child. Our neighborhood had many weeping willow trees. Beautiful.
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Thank you! I was reading somewhere that they usually grown near water, but none of the ones I’ve seen here are near water–unless a small manmade pond counts???
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Your photo is exquisitely beautiful, Chandra. The Billie Holiday song (that voice!) goes with it perfectly!
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Thank you!!! And yes–Billie Holiday. Whew! No voice like hers since!
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I love the quote about weeping willows. Have you had a chance to read The Overstory by Richard Powers. He describes the value of trees beautifully. I was disappointed in the rest of the story, but his points about the importance of trees to our planet make it worth the time to read.
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No–I haven’t. I’ll add it to the list! The quote comes from the second song. The song is now stuck in my head. 😀
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Beautiful image Chandra! I have seen some on my travels and their graceful trunks have made a lasting impression!! Thanks for these informative links.. 🙂
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Thanks for dropping in and for the compliment!
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How have I managed to not hear this until now? Thank you for introducing me to it.
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Her body of work is pretty extensive. It’s easy to miss a few…Glad you know it now! 🙂
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Beautiful Willow Chandra! Thank you. I have done a recent poem with a willow. I love the Dexter Gordon version of Willow Weep for me too, but Oh Sweet Billie! Here is my poem if it is ok to fit it in here…
https://lonagynt.wordpress.com/2019/07/27/btt-58-2-5-a-willows-kiss/
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Thank you for the compliment! I wish I’d seen your poem BEFORE posting. I would have included it. I’m bookmarking it because I have another weeping willow post up my sleeve. 😉
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Willows are wonderful creatures aren’t they!
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Yesss!
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Thank you for choosing the weeping willow for this post. I’ve not spent much time with one of these beauties, but have often admired them from afar and appreciated reading facts about them. I enjoyed the animated grandmother willow in the movie Pocahontas. You’ve inspired me to make time to visit a weeping willow soon.
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I hope you “grab” some shots when you visit one and share them on your blog.
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I will look forward to that.
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Lovely picture.
The Weeping Willow is such a thing of beauty! (A few years back I came across a Weeping Cherry Tree and that was charming too. :D)
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Weeping cherry tree?! I’d never heard of that!
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That’s beautiful and I wasn’t aware of the many facts that relate to the Willow. I wish to see one such tree one day 🙂
Thank you Chandra for joining with this magical entry. I hope to see you back, tomorrow.
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I crashed and missed posting a “new” tree for last week’s tree love. I linked to an older post. BUT–I took a brief tree walk in the hot sun yesterday to make up for it. 😀
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A popular park where I live in upstate New York has a number of willow trees. I love them. As a child I used to make bracelets with their flexible branches when I went to sleepaway camp – we had several weeping willows there, too.
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I’ve been dying to get to the willows on campus NOW while they’re “weeping to the full.” There are lines of them in two spaces, but it’s been soooooooo hot. I snapped some shots of one of them outside the church on campus before services a few days ago, but I felt a little self-conscious with everyone driving up and wondering what I was doing!
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