@redheadpei

Oh but what a wonderful post!! Bill Keane is actually the creator of that quote... I only know because I was compelled to look it up. He was also most remembered as the cartoonist for the The Family Circus... a perfect #treetuesday #lookingup and #tdp conglomeration-thingy-ma-bob!! Beautiful photographs... we had a hummingbird feeder and had several that used to come to visit, but ants covered the feeder... the hummingbirds didn't care for that...

Grackles we don't have, but do have PLENTY of squirrels, tit-mouse, red-headed woodpeckers, and of course, our piliated woodpeckers... our trees are lovely most of the time... though many are dying because this area is infested with termites. And... I don't mean just our property... it is like someone dropped a termite-bomb over this entire area... blah!! Your last photo was indeed touching:

In closing , a tree that has seen better days. It was on the ground in the forest behind the house and slowly decaying back to the earth.

To so many, it would be just that... a dead tree... or perhaps firewood... I think of the movie, "Avatar" where the race of people were all connected, through the roots of the trees... See? Your post has made me #thoughtful... and in closing... I would like to return the love for such a WONDERFUL post, with another quote by Bill Keane...

“Your mind is like this water, my friend. When it is agitated, it becomes difficult to see. But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear.”
― Bil Keane

^Source

Thank you again, my friend...
Wes