Picnic Tree

Picnic Tree

Once in a while, for a cheap, quick lunch, exbf will buy us a burger with a coupon. It's my idea for the coupon. We eat whatever we like that is the cheapest deal. I always carry a cold Coke for us, diet for him, and Diet Caffeine Free for me. Remember the cokes that cost me $0.04 each? Well, we are just cheap enough not to need to go sit inside. The car works. I am usually driving my car. So, I head for shade in the summer,  especially. In the winter we park facing some evergreens in another location.

 

He exclaimed one day that other people were doing the same thing. Let me tell you, this is a popular place in late Spring, all Summer, and early Fall. See the shadow that is cast? See the tree just beyond this tree? There is room for four cars, two under each tree. Some days, when a person is hogging the shadow, I have been known to get right on their bumper and ask with a wave of my hand for them to move up. Yes, they do. The tree and its greenness and shadow are calming.

 

My front yard has deep shade, not just one small tree, but three huge trees make it cool in summer. One oak tree is in the middle of the front yard, another oak is on the other side of the driveway, and the Hickory Nut tree is barely in the back yard. The other side of the yard has pines and various trees that cool the front yard just by virtue of being cooler in the side yard.

 

Some days, I come home and there is a car parked in front of my house. Just to make my presence known, and to let anyone know I care, I go toward them and ask if I can help them. So far, everyone is just resting in the shade while they eat lunch and I know it. I assure them it is okay to be there. (Really, the curb out in the road is not my business.)

 

As the year turns from Spring to Summer, a picnic tree for shade becomes a luxury. The tree above  is in the back of a shopping center, and behind four fast food places. When we get an ice cream cone from Burger King, we go to our picnic tree. A few times, we have driven to the park with a lake and ducks to sit and eat. The experience is calming and renews our spirits.

 

It does not matter if it is cold or raining or blazing hot, eating in the car is fine if there is a view. Of course, as you can tell, the view from the picnic tree is not idea. That bank across the street provides a green place for our eyes. The green canopy over our heads sometimes brushes the car, making it cozy inside the car and inside the tree's embrace.

 

If we are at my house, we sometimes take our lunch to my picnic table. But, everyone needs a picnic tree for eating an ice cream cone, don't you think?

 

Your turn

Do you ever seek out a place to eat a sandwich brought from home, fast food, or a full meal? Do you get a calm feeling from an impromptu al fresco meal? Does eating outdoors with a plan or no previous plan make you smile?