In Celebration of ARBOR DAY...

It's Arbor Day! And in case you didn't know, Arbor Day is a wondrous holiday which encourages individuals around the world to plant and care for trees. What better way to replenish our forests and beautify our homes and cities?

 This Dawn redwood Memorial Tree was planted by Senator Hatfield on Arbor Day, April 26, 1985.

Photographer: Djembayz

Julius Sterling Morton, a newspaper editor from Nebraska City, Nebraska and who served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Grover Cleveland, is responsible for the creation of this holiday. The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872 and an estimated one million trees were planted that day.

To commemorate this day, author Andrea Pearson thought it would be great fun to gather a group of authors that had ebooks referencing trees in one way or another and then offer them at a discount to all those who love to read.  Exciting stuff! These books will only be discounted for a limited time, so hurry over and check out her link!

You'll find "Shadow of the Witte Wieven" among the offerings because a great deal of the book takes place in the forests of Colombia. My publisher has graciously discounted this book through April 30, 2013.

What is it about?

Despite a contract on her head, lone Drug Enforcement Agent, Aliyana Montijo must ferret out a mole and stop the assassination of top DEA officials, as so ordered by the Colombian drug lord she seeks to take down. The task is a daunting one, for there is no one she can trust. No one that is, until she encounters a most unlikely ally.

Former seventeenth century captain of the Dutch West Indies Company, Wolfaert Dircksen Van Ness, now from a parallel dimension, encounters the beautiful agent during an unearthly storm in the Bermuda triangle. Drawn to the Spanish beauty he rescues, he pledges his assistance, despite her reluctance to accept either his help or his heart.

And because it's such a beautiful day here in Southern Nevada, I think I'll go plant another Sapphire Dragon tree (Paulownia kawakamii)... The ones I have are teeming with gorgeous purple flowers...

What about you? Do you have a favorite tree or Arbor Day tradition?