What's in a name?

To give a little background, I will start with the name of my blog. Since I was young, I have always had a fascination with trees and turtles.

Trees bring to mind a plethora of wonderful memories. As a child, on the farm that I grew up on in Alabama, we use to play in the trees, gather the leaves and play with them, and ride horses and bikes among them. Beautiful old trees have always been awe-inspiring to me.

I also have many fond memories of turtles.  Collected in the local lake where I grew up, I have owned many painted turtles. I also owned a tortoise for a short time. My friends and family realized my passion and gave me many turtle figurines of all shapes and sizes.  Turtles represent a home and a continual presence of patience one should have in one's life. A simplistic lifestyle that we could all learn from, turtles carry their home with them wherever they travel.

A small sampling of my collection

Trees and Turtles represents my appreciation of balance with nature and urban surroundings. This blog is my place to bring these two areas together in a way that corresponds with a few industrial passions: healthy places to live and more community oriented societies. I realize that these ideas encompass a great deal of topics, but in my mind all of these components (Design, Health, Sustainability and Community) can and should work together.