i don't know what this tree is called but it was full of red berries and they were just so engaging to look at. the tree isn't that tall, but i still had to go on the nearby ledge to get a close shot of the berries. but if i was eight or nine, i'd have climbed that tree without any problem.
in elementary, i must've been in grade three or four, i was such a tomboy i climbed trees like a monkey. there were a few really tall ylang-ylang trees around the school yard, taller than the one-storey buildings that housed the classrooms. when in bloom, the trees teemed with bright green flowers. i wanted to bring some to my mother so i climbed the darn tree. what do you know, the tree was also teeming with a kind of caterpillars with zebra-like phosphorescent skin. just one caterpillar touches your skin and it's enough to give you bumps and rashes. by the time i got back on the ground, i had a handful of ylang-ylang flowers but i was itching all over and had rashes even on my scalp.
my classmates as well as the other students all scurried away calling for the teacher. my teacher, an old spinster, came rushing, obscenities spewing out of her mouth, her big ruler in hand, cursing me and hitting me. wasn't i told not to climb that tree? didn't i remember about the worms? blah! blah! blah! she hit my hand to rid me of the flowers and the caterpillars and, with one hand pinching my ear, led me to the clinic and there, a whole can of vinegar was poured all over me. then i was made to stand outside in the sun to dry. man, did i stink through class that day! mind you, the vinegar in the old country is so pure and sour they use it to kill goats. well, better smelling sour like vinegar than stinky like a goat, i say!
thank you for your kind views and comments. i do appreciate them muchly.
Wow! interesting story! Pretty picture too but the one in my mind is even better with the teacher dragging you by one ear! They did that back then and I know I was frightened to death of my grade two teacher who used that nasty ruler on the childrens knuckles!
@pamfromcalgary - i got everything from that teacher - pulled hair, whacked rear, ear pinched, face slapped, but she was proud that of all her students, i was the only one who never got to stand in one corner in front of the class with the dunce cap. she was also teacher to my aunts and uncles so by the time i came to her classroom she was well over 60 and later on forced to retire. that retirement did her in, died within a few years. as much as i hated her for the physical punishment, she was one of the best teachers i had and i learned more than what she taught. thank you, pam.
This shot is so lovely, love your focus