come quickly (for the love of trees series)



come quickly, autumn

loose the red

and orange

set the color free



*Well, I do believe I could stay on the subject of trees indefinitely…..but will end this series with these images of autumn’s lovely palette. Thanks for checking in. My husband and I will be leaving tomorrow on a trip to Boston where we will enjoy the marvelous sites she has to offer and visit our son Ben. Posts may be hit and miss this week but do check back! :) Knowing you are out there keeps me going.

contrast (for the love of trees series)



This morning as I browse through my collection of tree images I find myself lingering over this image of my pear tree.

she speaks to me
of delicacy


And then, i scroll back to this tangle of branches and twigs taken in last year's winter woods. The contrast between the two images is a striking one i think:




oh winter woods

you are not cold and bare

as some would think


no, it is clear
that you are donned
in dignity

and strength



*And so I go forth into this day reminded by a pear tree and the winter woods of yesterday, that I need a tough but tender strength and the ability to speak truth with love.



rainbow's end (for the love of trees series)



oh trees, at the end

of the rainbow

you are more precious

than gold



at rest on a redbud (for the love of trees series)

While working on this “for the love of trees” series, I’ve taken note that, like with so many other things (and people) in my life, I love trees because of what they “are”…not what they “do”.  I love them for the beauty they bring to this world by their simply “being”. This image, however, reminds me that in their simply “being” they are also “doing”. In this case, the redbud tree outside my husband’s office window is offering shelter and a place to rest to one of God’s most delicate creatures. There is a lesson here I think. When we become content enough to “be” we can be a “safe place” for others. We are used most when we are “at rest” and content with our place in the scheme of things.

witnesses (for the love of trees series)



together

we are

witnesses

what i hear from you, oh woods (for the love of trees series)





sometimes you offer silence

sometimes you speak

and sometimes

yes, sometimes you

sing

*I hear the wind among the trees

  Playing the celestial symphonies;

  I see the branches downward bent,
  Like keys of some great instrument.
                    ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

changing (for the love of trees series)



green giving way

to gold

yea

autumn is

nigh

reaching (for the love of trees series)



upward,

ever upward

"There are rich counsels in the trees. " ~Herbert P. Horne

on the subject of tree trunks (for the love of trees series)

where would the branches be?

the twigs? the leaves?

the canopies?

why without a trunk

a tree

would not be

”Corot drew and modelled every tree trunk with the same devotion and love as if it were a figure.”
Letter to Theo van Gogh, c.September 1881



solitude (for the love of trees series)

This image brings to mind the word “solitude” and shows the loveliness to be found in it.


“Loneliness can be conquered only by those who can bear solitude. “
                                                                          ~Paul Tillich

in the background (for the love of trees series)

on this misty september morning

i see
that it is good to be

in the background

it is good
to stand firm
in peace and trust

while heaven sends
her sustenance


“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and who has made the Lord his hope. He shall be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water. “ Jeremiah 17:7

valley view (for the love of trees series)

Recently when I’ve been out walking, I find myself often looking upward at a tree. I enjoy the perspective of seeing the trunk and branches reaching toward the sky. Yesterday, I thought to myself that it would be fun to be able to take more images from above the trees. I looked back through some of my older photos to see if I had any from that perspective and found this one. I am moved by its subtlety and peacefulness. It brought the following quote to mind:


“To heal mine aching moods,
Give me God's virgin woods.”
                              ~Clinton Scollard

oak (for the love of trees series)

"Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but acorns and that our greatest happiness will be to become bigger, fatter, shinier acorns; but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something better: that we can become oak trees."          - E.F. Schumacher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I see strong majestic trees such as these, I immediately feel a sense of awe in their presence. I think they are here, in part, to be inspirations of “strength”. Can you imagine the root system of this particular tree? Since this is a “city” tree her life giving roots are spread under yards of concrete. How deep they must go……



trees, in depth (for the love of trees series)

While on the topic of trees and imagination….Another shot with slow shutter speed and upward movement (be it ever so slight). I love the layers in this image and the way the ghostlike trees in the background give it depth. And I love the layers in life; One thing building upon another. We start small, having no idea of the wide world awaiting us. But as we age and grow we have the opportunity to allow experience and time to give us depth, color, and fascination. I hope that as I continue to age, I accept that opportunity and rather than become smaller and smaller; become deeper and deeper. J Following are my experiments with changing the saturation of colors in this image. Do you have a favorite?



“The groves were God's first temples.” ~William Cullen Bryant, "A Forest Hymn"

*A special thanks to my friend Carol for sharing this quote. :)

illumined by fire (for the love of trees series)

as fire falls
below the horizon

you, my friends
become new
to me

*This image was taken during sunset at a slow shutter speed with intentional movement of the camera. These trees are trees I see every day from my deck. I love the fact that they are really always new to me, as light, season, and imagination change their appearance. Though I love any excuse to travel, I never have to go far to see new things. J

under a cottonwood (for the love of trees series)

it was you
oh carefree cottonwood

giving shelter
and flight

to the fanciful dreams
of childhood


*I think my love affair with trees began as a young girl. Have you ever seen or read the book A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson? The copy i remember had a beautiful line drawing of a young girl lying under a tree reading a book. I didn't read my books under trees but i did often run through the pastures to my favorite cottonwood, lie down in the deep grass and watch the clouds pass over. That wise old cottonwood never said a word but he gave me hours of comfort and friendship.

upward (for the love of trees series)

"The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky." ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by Stuart Gilbert


*If I were forced…absolutely forced to choose one thing in nature that I would find it most difficult to live without, I think I would say trees. Oh how I love them. I’m sure you do to. But it’s my hope that this series will cause you take a closer look at them as you drive down the street on the way to the grocery store, or walk your dog, or glance out your window. :)

in the scheme of things

Last night as the day was drawing to a close I stepped out on the deck to take in the last lights of the lovely September sunset. This little fella caught my eye. So I raced back inside to my office to retrieve my camera. This is how I saw him through the lens, suspended midair from what looked like nothing (above the deck railing.) It was quite a sight so I snapped several shots and now as I look at them I am puzzled as to what to name this photo. Since today is Labor Day I immediately thought of “at work”……but then I thought of “in the scheme of things” which I felt suited the mood of the image much better. Yes…..


i see you
tiny spider

the light of a star
making you known to me

we are together
this moment
juxtaposed against the
universe

living
breathing
creatures

still

at the end of
day


*In order to see the spider’s handiwork, I enhanced the black colors in the image and came up with the following:

on the way back home (an anything but ordinary morning series)

Walking down the hill on my way back home, I was struck by the unexpected beauty of these telephone poles and wires.  If I had to choose one thing that I think often clutters up the pristine  kansas landscape, I would pick billboards but coming in at a close 2^nd would be telephone poles and wires! That is why I was so surprised by the beauty in this scene. I could spend a paragraph telling you all the things that I think make it extraordinary, but I will let you pick your own. Isn’t my walking route amazing!

A new series coming next week…..hmmmm, what should it be?

through the trees, an anything but ordinary morning series

the trees were strong
straight
and glorious

the light;
bright
bold
victorious

and the air?
the air was
cool
upon
my face


*No matter how hard I stare at a scene like this one, I can’t seem to find anything “ordinary” about it. When again will those very leaves be witnessed by someone when the sun is shining at just that angle , and with the exact same amount of humidity in the air?



I had some fun experimenting with some different points of focus through these trees. I intentionally took everything out of focus on a few of the following shots and on a few I slowed down the shutter speed and moved the camera. It was fun and I thought the results were interesting so will share a few of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

 







web (an anything but ordinary morning series)



As I continue on my walk, I glimpse from the corner of my eye this intricate web. If it weren’t for the light hitting it just so, I would have missed seeing it completely. It is quite “anything but ordinary”. I found two quotes I like that use the “web” as a metaphor:

“Fiction is like a spider's web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners. Often the attachment is scarcely perceptible. ” ~Virginia Woolfe

“The means to gain happiness is to throw out from oneself like a spider in all directions an adhesive web of love, and to catch in it all that comes” ~ Leo Tolstoy

It’s interesting what such a fragile, delicate creation brings into the minds of people. What is the first thing a spider web reminds you of (symbolically speaking)? For me, it’s a toss up between strength, diligence, and faith. Today I take from this particular web the thought of “diligence”.  Weave on little spider, you are inspiring me.

common? weed (anything but ordinary morning series)

So I head down the road on this “anything but ordinary” morning and before I’ve gone far, I see this common weed. How fantastically lovely I think. Whoever said that weeds are “common”? I’m reminded by this fragile beauty that the appearance of a plant or even a person is quite affected by the intensity and hue of the light upon it at the time it is observed.  How lucky for me to view this solitary weed in the softness of early morning light. How lucky for any of us to be viewed by others through a lens of soft compassion.