I’ve been searching for the perfect Boo Radley tree. Know what I mean? A tree with a knothole in it, just the right height and size to leave trinkets inside. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley hid treasures in a tree knothole for Scout and Jem.
I know you love the book as much as I, and if you don’t, well, what can I say? You might want to do some deep soul searching.
In case you need a refresher, here’s a list of the gifts left in the tree:
2 pieces of chewing gum (Wrigley’s Double Mint)
2 scrubbed and polished pennies (1906 and 1900 Indian-heads)
1 ball of gray twine
2 almost perfect miniatures of two children (Scout and Jem)
1 whole package of chewing gum
1 tarnished medal (Spelling Bee medal)
1 pocket watch that wouldn’t run, on a chain with an aluminum knife
With all the trees in our neighborhood, there must be a perfect Boo Radley tree. And I have plenty of opportunity to search. I walk Lucy and Annabelle several times a day so that at night they do this…
It works rather well. They pull on their leashes in different directions, bark at squirrels and people on bikes and mothers pushing baby strollers while I look at trees. I notice the bark more during the winter. Nature’s patterns are stunning, especially when there’s no hiding behind spring blossoms or autumn foliage.
Red berries truly pop.
Knotholes are noticeable. Boo Radley holes. I found a few contenders.
This one’s a little small. (Hard to tell in the picture.)
This is my favorite so far.
Now, what to put inside there?
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
P.S. How happy are we about Harper Lee’s “lost novel”?
“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
[tweetthis]Searching for the perfect Boo Radley tree. #ToKillAMockingbird[/tweetthis]
Musical Pairing:
Horst Jankowski – A Walk in the Black Forest
Love the idea of another book but a bit sad that it may be not what the author ever wanted. I SO hope she is not being taken advantage of.
Yes, me too Gina, but I hope that’s not the case.
Gina, I share your mixed feelings about how the novel came to be locked away and how it has now come to be published. Reading it may answer some of our concerns, and I will definitely read it. I have three completed novel manuscripts that no one has seen but me, and one that only my agent (who declined to pursue marketing it) has seen, and many authors have unseen manuscripts, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Harper Lee has the manuscript. The issue is why? Why forgotten? Why now? Mine aren’t hidden, just too busy to pursue marketing… In a way, they are forgotten. Maybe that is what happened with Ms. Lee.
Lyn – I have two unpublishable manuscripts that I hope no one EVER publishes. Both co-written in junior high with friends. Both hilariously horrible. One is purely silly stuff. The other, we really thought we were good. I should shred both, but I can’t:)
Lovely music to listen to while reading your lovely blog.
Great post. I love that book and look forward to reading the next one. Love the Bo Radley tree.