What we hope to see as states start to compete in the official Race to the Top is a spirit of real innovation, real collaboration and a real commitment to building programs that are branches on a growing, vibrant tree, not, as the proverb warns, branches without a tree.
More than a few homeowners have already decided they can no longer bear the suspense that comes with living under a leafy canopy, and have alerted tree companies that, after their workers catch their breath from the hurricane's toll, they want them to come and cut down still-vibrant trees that might in the wrong weather threaten their homes.
Then dine al fresco on the veranda, enjoying the gastronomic wonders you've created, viewing the lush hills and vibrant Cyprus trees native to Tuscany.
Instead, Gimmelwald comes alive during spring and summer, when vibrant green trees dominate the landscape.
While not as robust as the spring or summer, the grounds are still vibrant green, trees are heavy with fruit and some feature a few fall colors -- a rarity in Los Angeles.
You can also get out and about explore the surrounding areas which look especially beautiful at this time of year - visit the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown or enjoy Wanaka's vibrant colourful trees that line the shores.
This heavily pruned bole represented in Fig. 1 stands in dramatic contrast to the vibrant, multifurcating tree of fossil apes that lived in the Miocene epoch, 23.0 5.3 million years ago (Ma).
El Yunque, by far the more famous of the two, is lush and verdant -- a damp, steamy rainforest full of vibrant parrots, mossy trees covered in red bromeliad blooms, croaking coqui frogs and humidity-loving orchids.
Vibrant star fruit trees appear along the jungle trails of the Carambola Botanical Gardens, where sweet-toothed trekkers search for the renowned "Chocolate Tree" among the ferns.
If world leaders were to visit Nigerien villagers tending vibrant bands of trees along the borders of the Sahara Desert or fishermen drawing full nets from restored wetlands in Bangladesh, they might feel renewed hope and inspiration.
And if you're traveling over the holidays and you find yourself with time to spare at the Munich Airport in mid-November, check out Winter Market, where you'll find 400 brightly lit Christmas trees, vibrant market stalls serving mulled wine and an outdoor ice skating and curling rink.
