In this picture is a mysterious trace of a living object, clothes moved by the wind— changes its exterior to compliment the seasons, but rests its roots in the damp soil. Although it has a completely different appearance during those four seasons known to man as summer, winter, fall and spring, the trace it leaves is roughly the same. A dark shadow, often disregarded. Although the shadow itself, “the castee” is sitting next to its family member, “the castor”, it is just as beautiful. Although the castor is the tree from which flowers and leaves bloom, it is the growth of the branches and stems that support the flowers and leaves. Beauty involves time and does not only come from the exterior, but the interior. The tree absorbs all the nutrients from mother earth, and it is the partnership between earth and the living things that enable our earth to be so beautiful.

Much like a tree, Arcadia did not become such a beautiful city and was not granted “the best city in California to raise kids,” over a couple of months, but Arcadia developed into a beautiful city after many, many years of care and years of working together with the community. From a population of a few hundred people to a whopping 50,000, Arcadia has developed much like a tree. Although a tree starts out to be a seed, a small, small seed, it grows to be strong and full of life, accompanied by many other forms of life. The tree is seen as a powerful symbol of growth, as the tree is the only living thing that continues to grow throughout its lifetime, much like the city of Arcadia, a city that continues to grow and become beautiful throughout the generations. So you may wonder why such a wide variety of beautiful trees exist today in Arcadia. With nurture and care, it lives for generations—a shadow that will cast for years to come.