Today I took a Sunday walk through the Reist Preserve that is about five minutes from my home. It is the perfect Fall day. Gentle sunlight was filtering through the trees and touching the leaves making them shimmer in yellow, red, and orange. That light seemed to be the very fingers of Creator reaching down to remind me of the love and care that fills creation. Leaves carpeted the forest floor giving color and texture and the dear crunch that comes making music under my feet.

 Then I saw one of my favorite trees - witch hazel. I usually make a pilgrimage to these woods in Autumn to see this flowering tree. Today, I had forgotten about it until I got on the trail. Last year I found a few trees and now I couldn't remember where I had spotted them. But now I was in awe before a whole stand of them right in front of me! The flowers are so delicate- they look like small yellow stars at the end of each branch and twig. To get under the limbs and look up at the flowers with the background of blue sky is really breathtaking!

Actually, I discovered that witch hazel is a deciduous shrub or "(rarely) a small tree" - I saw lots of "rarlies" today! You are probably thinking that the only place you've seen witch hazel is on the shelf in the drug store. That's because it has so many medicinal uses. The medicinal properties were first used by Native Americans. 

I have used witch hazel to soothe my skin from insect bites or irritations. That is a gift the tree offers. But my favorite gift is the beauty of the flowers and the surprise I experience at a blooming bush in the middle of Autumn when everything around is dying!

Ever experience witch hazel?