Paying Respects

2/4/25 Green Lake neighborhood
(a 5-minute sketch because it was 38 degrees!)

I’m glad I sketched it last month when I could: The maple tree that stood outside my yoga instructor’s studio was cut down last week. The next time I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by to pay respects.

It looks so empty there now. But after the pavement gets fixed, most passers-by will not remember that a tree grew there for more than a hundred years – planted long before all the buildings on that block were built. I’m sure I’ve done it many times, too – passed a spot where a tree used to be, but I didn’t even notice that it had disappeared at some point. That’s why it’s important to sketch the ones I do remember.