Poster Giant Beech Trees

This is a photo of two giant beech trees in a woodland where I walk my dogs. I have to speak to them every time I pass between them and I'll usually touch one or the other. It reminds me of the Greek legend of Baucis & Philemon, an old married couple who were the only ones in their village to make welcome the gods Zeus and Hermes (disguised as peasants). During the course of the evening the old couple rumbled the gods, who told them to pack their belongings and leave because they were going to destroy the whole village for its lack of hospitality. Baucis and Philemon followed the gods and their village was destroyed by a flood. Where their humble cottage once stood, now there was a magnificent temple to the gods. Zeus and Hermes each offered them a wish. They asked to serve in the temple together until one of them died, and which time the other should die also. Their wishes were granted, and when the time of the death of one fell due, the couple stepped outside the temple to enjoy the evening air, and were each turned into a tree. It's a story I first read when I was seven or eight years old, and it's still the most romantic tale I know.