Wind Chime Memorial Tree

Just off a bicycle trail near Spring Hill, Florida, a live oak sings when the wind moves through it.

The Wind Chime Tree stands near the Suncoast Trail right by Anderson Snow Park, with branches that have been decorated with a growing collection of wind chimes.

Local school board member and businessman Gus Guadagnino first added chimes in memory of his mother in 1998, and others later added their own. The tree is now a place where anyone can come to commemorate their loved ones. 

Over the years, hundreds of chimes have been hung on the branches, from tiny ones barely six inches tall, to others with tubes several feet long. Other mementos, such as crosses, jewelry, handmade signs, and stuffed animals, can be found on and around the oak. 

The result is part roadside folk shrine, part accidental sound sculpture. Cyclists and walkers now encounter an oak whose branches glitter with metal ornaments. Here, grief has found a surprisingly gentle instrument.