Errr... who told you about the tea?
I know that sometimes when we expect to see something we see that - and not what's really there; for instance I've heard of hunters shooting at a fellow hunter and swearing they saw antlers on him.
Conversely, we may not see always see or comprehend something that is there when our mind can't categorize it.
I took a look at this page on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_people (taken with the usual grain of salt). Several factors could have triggered it I guess the lights and shadows, the 3 mile walk (releasing dopamine), electromagnetic radiation. Anyway weird.
Here is the tree in question. Nothing extraordinary.
Google Maps