There’s the old saying of “leave it as you found it” when traversing a trail.
Don’t litter. Avoid harm to plants and wildlife. Let nature be nature.
And, of course, never sketch a Sharpie-drawn cartoon countenance on a tree.
Clearly this tree in question has been defaced– with a face.
But maybe it’s not such a terrible thing?
After all, Geocaching has grown in popularity, as has the Kindness Rocks Project. The former encourages families to explore public places in search of hide-and-seek containers; the latter features kids painting friendly messages on rocks for others to find.
In other words, both hobbies involve a variation of messing with nature.
Ultimately, though, getting children and families out walking in fresh air and exploring the world around them is a beautiful thing… maybe if a tree smile results in a child smile, it’s not so bad to deface a tree like this?
I just wouldn’t want copycats creating a whole trove of trees smiling at me during my walk.
That’s definitely not something I’d want to face.
Photo: Hiking trail in Black Run Preserve, Evesham, NJ.
Dangling Twine 