Since I’m updating my blog design for the first time in several years, I thought I’d add featured images for the major categories: Life (my personal stuff), Universe (science stuff), and Everything (everything else).
Life
The tree of life 
is a recurring image in many ancient cultures. A tree has deep connections with the earth. Its branches reach up to the heavens and outward to all sides. It symbolizes the interconnection of earth and heaven, of body and spirit.
The tree of life is also used as a metaphor in biology, describing the relationship of all life on earth in an evolutionary context:
From the first growth of the tree, many a limb and branch has decayed and dropped off; and these fallen branches of various sizes may represent those whole orders, families, and genera which have now no living representatives, and which are known to us only in a fossil state. … As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch, so by generation I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever-branching and beautiful ramifications.
Charles Darwin, On the origin of species
The image I’ve choses is a Tree of Life wallhanging created by Humdinger Designs, a husband-and-wife team of metal artists. I’ve requested the artists’ permission to use the image for non-commercial purposes.
I like the hitchhiker’s reference there and am totally intrigued with seeing the actual metal sculpture in real life! Must be gorgeous!
There are photos of several different versions of it on the artist’s website, Karen: http://humdingerdesigns.com/collections/tree-of-life
There is an old African proverb that says – If an old man dies, it is the same as if a library has burnt down. To me, that is the same with an old tree…if they could talk!
I agree, Amanda. We are blessed with many huge old oak trees in our neighborhood. They’ve seen many families grow up, and must have a whole fund of stories to tell.