A Wee Little Man

"Did you see the sycamore tree this morning?" Weldon asked.
"Sycamore tree? We have a sycamore tree? Like Zacchaeus climbed?" I was full of questions.
"I don't know about that, but it is a sycamore tree."
"Well, I'm gonna walk on over there and see if I can climb it."

I had noticed this tree before, but didn't know it was a sycamore.

With every step I took, the tree got bigger and bigger. I was amazed. This is not your wee-little-man's tree.

There's no way I can climb this monster. What's the deal? Time to do some investigating. The sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed belongs to the nettle family. Below is a photo of the sycamore (Ficus sycomorus) that grows around Jericho. Thanks to Ferrell Jenkins for his photo and information.

Wouldn't this be a great tree for us wee little ones to climb?

The American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is what we have in North Carolina. According to Wikipedia, these trees can grow to over 100 feet tall and five to six feet in diameter. Here are a few more pics from the farm.

From a distance.

Tall. Really tall.

The most interesting thing I learned is that the bark of the sycamore tree can't stretch, so as the trunk grows, the bark flakes off in big chunks. You can see the evidence of that in the next photos.

These pics were taken in early April, so I'm guessing the weird fuzzy things in the next photo is the "fruit" that hangs on through the winter. And the little bud-like things might be ... buds?

My walk out to the sycamore tree was amazing. I couldn't climb the tree, but I saw the handiwork of God ... and even more so as I learned a few facts about the tree. Such a marvel. The cows like it, too.