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