The Trees
by Philip Larkin
The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.
Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.
Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.
Newell Park in St. Paul's Hamline-Midway neighborhood is most remarkable for its huge and numerous oak trees. It is also host to the annual Heartwood Festival (formerly the Hamline-Midway Folk Festival).
From the Saint Paul Parks site:
"One of the oldest parks in Saint Paul, Newell Park was dedicated in 1908. The park is named after Stanford Newell, attorney, member of the first Saint Paul Park Board, and U.S. Minister to the Netherlands from 1897 to 1906.
Park development began in 1927. The pavilion, which still stands today, was built in 1929. The park was a center of community activity throughout the 1930s and many large celebrations were held there."
We live a few blocks from this park, so it is an easy evening or anytime destination. If you are reading this and don't think that you have access to something similar, I encourage you to pull up a map. Or even pull OUT a map, like on real paper and everything, and make sure. Many urban areas have undiscovered places you can take your kid, and even the smallest patch of ground can be teeming with interesting things. Remember, just because you have seen it doesn't mean your kid has, and just because you think it's common doesn't mean your kid will. We notice so much more when we are with Finn because he is seeing things we don't, and we are looking for things to show him.
There are many picnic tables as well as a couple of shelters, plus bathrooms on the west side of the pavilion. There is street parking south and west of the park and two parking lots on the north side. This is a common gathering space for parties and family reunions. Other amenities include a small basketball court, baseball diamond, bike racks, and water fountains.
Unfortunately, people don't seem to pick up after themselves at this park as well as one might hope, and people sit in their cars a lot in the parking lot. That said, no one has ever bothered me, and the parking lot is over the hill from the playground and on the other side of the park from the oak grove.
More Photos Here.
Newell Park
North Fairview Avenue and Hewitt Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104
