Ash tree card digitally printed using archival pigment inks on silky, bright white, acid-free paper. Folded card is 5.25" by 5.25" and comes with a beautifully made, bright white envelope. The photograph I used to create the tree mandala is printed on the back of the card with the photo location. Interior of the card is blank and the paper is super smooth, not slick, and takes gel, ballpoint, and other inks well. Perfect everyday card or blank birthday card for a tree hugger, forest ecologist, naturalist, tree spirit, or anyone who loves time in the woods. Also nice for a Gemini or other air sign, due to the mandala's light and breezy energy. The card and envelope are packaged together in a plastic sleeve and mailed in a stiffened mailer.

Framing. This tree card is created using high-quality materials, such as might be used in a museum. The print is sharp, bright, and frameable. To protect the vibrancy of the artwork, I frame using UV glass or acrylic, and I recommend it. If you use plain glass or acrylic, make sure you hang this sweet, little piece and all your beautiful art away from direct sunlight.

Postage. Because irregularly shaped mail, like this square tree card, must be canceled by hand, the U.S. Postal Service requires extra postage to deliver them. Special "butterfly stamps" carry the exact right postage to mail your bee card within the U.S. If you would like me to stamp the envelope with a butterfly stamp so it's ready for you to mail, please choose that option from the menu.

About the Art. I took the photograph I used to create my ash tree mandala, titled Ashen Cathedral, in spring of 2014. The white ash tree I photographed was still healthy then and, being an ash, was slow to leaf out and was still the limey green of spring when the leaves on all the other trees had already taken on the deeper greens they'd wear through summer. Even then, this tree and its nearby mate were infested with emerald ash borers, shiny green beetles that had made their way across the ocean from Asia to decimate all of our native ash species. The fact that my two ash trees are now dying is deeply disappointing to me. I'd planted them twenty years ago as seedlings, precisely spaced so I'd one day be able to string a hammock between their trunks and watch the sun set beyond the farthest ridge. I was able to enjoy the hammock for two, maybe three, years before the trees produced massive final crops of seeds and began to die, dropping branches and making lounging between them too dangerous a proposition. Some homeowners poison the ground around their infested ash trees, introducing systemic insecticides that the trees draw up into themselves. This was a non-starter for me, as I manage my property as a bird sanctuary and had no intention of poisoning the woodpeckers that tapped the trees for larvae. So, as is now recommended, I let the trees stand and slowly die, cutting back dead branches that might be a hazard and leaving the little ash seedlings that now stud the yard to live on for a better day. To me, this mandala art carries the energy and hope of that better day.

Find it on Etsy. This card is also listed in my Etsy shop.