I have a love/hate relationship with weeping willow trees. My home growing up had a large willow in the backyard which my friends and I enjoyed climbing and taking solace in its shade on hot summer days. The fall brought hours and hours of racking and picking up the small sticks the willow dropped. The first house I owned had a huge weeping willow in the front yard. It kept the house shaded in the afternoons and my girls would play in among the long leaves touching the ground. Those darn sticks kept me busy after every wind storm, however.
My current home does not have willows nearby so when I visited the Onondaga Lake Park near Syracuse, New York last night, this majestic weeping willow caught my eye in the warm light of the setting Sun. Willows are the first to leaf out each year so they stand out until the rest of the trees follow suit in early May.
A majestic Weeping Willow tree found in Onondaga Lake Park near Syracuse, New York. Willow trees require a lot of water as some species grow up to eight feet a year.
Maybe later this summer, I’ll return to this tree with a book to sit in it’s cool shade as sounds of the lake and kids playing nearby take me back to the days of my youth.
Branches of a Weeping Willow reach out over Onondaga Lake near Syracuse, New York. The shade of willow trees have protected many a reader like this author from the hot summer Sun.
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Your images of the Weeping Willow are beautiful. The yellow/green color on a cloudless sky is the perfect contrast. My favourite is the 2nd image withe the large branch. Is this taken with your ultra wide angle lens?
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I took this with the Nikon 18-200mm VR at 18mm. It is a wide angle at this focal length and my favorite walk around lens.
The mix of golden sunlight and the green of the willows new leaves created a color that glowed.
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What part of the lake was this taken?? I’ve been looking for a good picnic date spot and my husband loves weeping willows!
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These are/were found on the eastern shore of the park. I have not been down there in years so not sure after 14 years if they are still there.
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I really like the way the second photo catches the slender branches in mid-sweep. It’s a child-size perspective–a reminder of summer days when all a person had to do was the important work of play. Hope you find a really good story to read.
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Ah, it sure did bring back those memories, Gerry. I shall find a good summer read for an summer afternoon and return. Who knows, there might be another story and picture to share then.
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I do love these trees in spring – so beautiful against the blue sky. Love your perspective on the second shot – makes be want to be there enjoying the moment.
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I guess I should have used the second as the first. 🙂 I did want to give some scale to the tree. It is big.
The second one I found while walking round the tree’s truck and then sitting down at it’s base. Trying to figure out how to best show the serenity of the tree and then I looked up.
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Lovely photographs! Weeping willows are special to me too. There was a nice big one across the street from us when we were growing up and its branches often hung to the ground. I loved playing underneath.
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Thanks, DM! I have both fond and painful memories of the willow we had out back. Fell out of it once. Ouch!
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I’ve always liked weeping willows, too. That second shot is really cool.
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Thanks, Michaela! The second one seems to be very popular.
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Both majestic and delicate looking, moving with every breath of wind. Gentle sound in the breeze. Your beautiful pictures show no sign of this hate relationship with weeping willow trees 😉 but I do see your point.
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Isa, now that I’ve had a few years without a willow nearby, I miss it but not enough to have one. I think I’ll just visit these and enjoy their presence as I did the other night.
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I’m only echoing what others have already said at this point, but I felt I needed to chime in also at the lovely color and cool perspective of the 2nd shot. My sister’s and my best friend growing up had one of those huge trees in her yard. We loved playing around it and pretending we could swing like Tarzan on the long vine-like branches!
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What she said.
-Karma’s sister 🙂
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Oh…the Tarzan swing. Did a lot of that, too. Happy you and your sister chimed in. 🙂
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Those are great shots! I love those trees although I’d prefer to love them on someone else’s property.
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Aye, I share your sentiment. I liked them a lot more in the park.
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The tree really looks majestic and like it could dance, love the yellow of the leaves.
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In a sense, the tree did a slow dance with the light breeze that night. I like the symbolism of a dance even if the tree is rooted in one place.
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I like to see them hanging over water.
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When my daughter was in Bath, England to study abroad, she told me how much she enjoyed finding a forest of willows along a river and re-visiting the times she used to hide and seek with me among the hanging tendrils.
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Gorgeous images of the weeping willow! Definitely a majestic Weeping Willow. I love the weeping willow and would love to have one but it would take a lot of water from the ground and take up a lot of space. Weeping willow are more befitting by the waterside.
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Thanks, Anna…the willow in my parent’s backyard is long gone. Victim of a lowered water table as development drained nearby wetlands. The willows here are right on the lakeshore and has plenty of water to keep them healthy for some time to come.
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Those weeping willows with their lovely light green colours in the warm sunset-light – with that heavenly blue sky behind – WOW, they really lightened up my spring-mood. Thank you!
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You’re welcome, Truels!
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I love the perspective that you captured, it gave the image a lot more in the interest character. I also like the bright red tops of the two walking their dogs, perhaps not planned but still looks great.
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I did take photos of others walking by but this couple in red with the dogs were perfect. Contrasting colors are easier to see and you can tell how big the trees are with them there.
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I love the first photo, that looks like a nice trail for walking or jogging.
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It is Nye. I go here often for exercise and photography. Do a search on “onondaga lake park” to see more.
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What lovely photos. That weeping willow is realy impressing, I don´t remember having seen such a tall one before. The second photo is my favorite too, I like the feeling of standing close to the tree trunk, safe and invisible. After having read the other comments, I thought about how interesting it is, that many have a nice childhood memory about a willow. Among all trees, the willow seems to make the greatest impression as a child. Possibly because it appeals to the imagination with all its hanging lines. Did I tell about the willow at my playground…I still remember exactly how it looked, and how I felt about it.
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I found that interesting too. I agree with you that willows bring about a child’s imagination.
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Wow, that first photo is a perfect stock photograph. Well done.
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Thanks, Mike. I thought the same. Maybe I should consider looking for an agency. Haven’t a clue how to do that. Any advice?
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I love these trees. They’re beautiful. Great capture
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I know…you have a lovely photo of some on your blog this week.
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Weeping willows were a big part of my childhood. I haven’t seen one in years.
The light green of the leaves against the backdrop of blue sky in your photos gives the feeling of spring and new life.
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Now you have, virtually speaking. 🙂 It was one of those nights…a clear sky and beautiful light. Perfect outdoor photography conditions.
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They make for lovely photographs.
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That they do, Chloe! Thank you for your comment.
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I love the color of the green against the blue sky. Willows are so elegant. Just beautiful. The pop of red on the runners in the first one gives it a nice touch.
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Thanks, Jan. Nice blog you have there.
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Love these shots, a friend of mine loves willows and I would love to take her down to the park to show her these, where exactly where they taken on the lake?
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