Our backyard is dominated by a huge old Lansones tree. The base of the trunk measures approximately four feet around. The thick muscular trunk rises solidly for nine meter and then separate into two main branches. From these, the lower branches spread out diagonally reaching into the neighbor’s Rambotan tree. The main branches continue to rise, up and up, where they compete for each other for air and sunlight. As birds sway in the wind, they look as if they are riding a ship across a gently swelling ocean. For these heights too, it is easy to see the variety of shrubs and sweet-smelling flowers lining the two long sides of rectangular yard, the small walkway along the back of the house, and the back fence that runs along the alley.