This Old Bush

I was over at my parent's house this evening for dinner with my daughter.  After dinner, I went out in the front yard with the dog who, upon sensing a rabbit, went flying off in the bushes.

My daughter had come out too and was climbing in a tree we hadn't thought to tell her about before that is perfect for climbing.   She's going to be all over it tomorrow, finding all the sitting places and swinging spots.

While I watched my daughter I was trying to see if I needed to call the dog back.  Up the hill past the grass is a natural area that has azalea plants.  My father likes azaleas and they've been there since I was a child.

And this got me thinking.   We consider trees old because they get taller, bigger and have growth rings.   And yet the same plants have been growing since before I was born in some cases.  I don't know how age is determined for plants.

I looked at one bush in particular that we used to play in/around/under as a child.   The bush is still there in the same place at about the same size.  It's hard to believe those and some of the other plants in the yard have all been around for a half-century.

The Big Boy Update:  My husband sent this list of rides they rode today: The Simpson’s Ride, Men in Black: Alien Attack, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Transformers, Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Skull Island: Reign of Kong, Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-man

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter and I packed for her to have a sleepover with Mimi tonight.  I dropped her off and wanted to make sure my mother knew everything we'd bought and that she didn't have any questions.  My daughter told me she and Mimi needed to have their time and could I please leave now?