How heartening to get so many kind comments on the beech tree at Clanfield. Trees are such magical living creatures; the way each twiglet on its twig and each twig on its branch copies the complete form of its mother tree; the way the tree's shape is reflected in it' individual leaf forms. Each day's light shows their shape and curves and patterns in different ways---never twice the same. I've been meaning to paint a local Lombardy Poplar four gardens away. Every spring when the sky is brown blue with thunder it stands out bronze in the theatrical low sun light and now it's been cut down! What a crime---I hope it's emblazoned on my mind's eye so that I can recapture its magic.