Bildein, Apart From The Picture On Festival, Has This Mammoth Tree.

A tree that has seen it all and will see some more for sure.

A tree trunk so strong, large and yet kind of elegant. At the moment it could be any tree, but I'll show you the proportions in a minute. This mammoth ( there is no other way to describe it ) tree even dwarfs Bildein's church. We have a weekly hour with a kindergarten crew of two in the rectory next to the church.

It didn't matter what angle I used, there was just no way to get both the tree and the church into the same picture. For some reason it was blowing gales and even though it was sunny it felt as if I was being lashed with icy tentacles. There was one protected spot where to take my photos.

This mammoth tree is really that big. During summer and autumn, one hardly sees the church spire through the leaves. When this tree drops its foliage during shedding season, the kids have a ball. The whole square in front of it ( the same square where the annual Picture On festival is held ) is then covered in a blanket of leaves. They dive on them, they do a spot of gathering and also hunt for big individual leaves.

A symbol of strength and beauty. This tree must have born witness to several generations of life. The church was and is the central meeting point of any village. Weddings, christenings, funerals, intrigues and just normal services through a century or two at least...and hopefully for a few more to come.

Biggi