1868. lazy looking

 

on this blus’try morn
red’ning tree full of sparrows
with soft gaze they’re there 🦊❤️

Warning: What follows may be politically incorrect. 

As I sat lazily looking out of my window wondering what I should write about in today’s post, the rusting Maple tree came alive suddenly.  Handfuls of  hidden sparrows started conducting a  “Chinese Firedrill” as they moved from branch to branch then disappeared again - proving again that a patient soft gaze often reveals what’s below the surface of things.  A good strategy to employ in this era of artificial intelligence and fabricated reality.  🦊❤️

1867. airworthy

 


i watched from above
how perfectly you spun ‘round
floating down, down, down 🦊❤️

There is a Sugar Maple tree right beside my balcony. As the leaves fall, the balcony is covered with “seed helicopters”. I started picking them up and released them one at a time from the balcony. How perfectly they spun to the ground  I could not help but ponder the amazing perfection of their design and how brilliant was their delivery system that takes them to earth for propagation. 🦊❤️   



1866. battling

 

battling to the death
two fierce forest behemoths
nightmares made of this 🦊❤️

During our hike today, Yulan spotted this fierce battle between two tree monsters.  What a Halloween sighting. She was kind enough to let me use the scene for my post today!! 🦊❤️

1865. design

 

on the forest’s floor
nature’s designs on display
like this mushroom’s spots 🦊❤️

There is order even in the midst of chaos.  Just look at the forest’s floor. 🦊❤️

1864. slower than molasses

i would love to be
a slug for a single day
only one speed… slow 🦊❤️

 Today is a beautifully rainy day. It’s a perfect day to shift to slow and just creep along one step at a time.  🦊❤️

1863. through all kinds of weather

 

off the beaten trail
there’s a very special tree
that’s our secret place 🦊❤️

Many years ago I made ceramic tiles with images that represent Yulan and I. We put them on a tree well off the beaten path in the woods. The tree is surrounded by vines and thorns and poison ivy. Our tiles have “matured” as a result of being out there in all kinds of weather - just like us. It’s our secret place that will be inhabited by us long after we are gone. We all need a mysterious secret place to hang out at.  🦊❤️

1862. becoming one with….

blending perfectly
like a grasshopper on grass…
… or a katydid 🦊❤️

I love hiking with a grasshopper… or maybe a katydid!! 🦊❤️
 

1861. hallowed ground

 

once stood a tall tree
time and weather took their toll
sawdust is its ghost 🦊❤️

The field was littered with many trees that had fallen over the years. I used to enjoy slaloming through them as I made my way to the trails.  Today, all that was left were lines of sawdust where the trees had been  cut into sections and hauled away. 🦊❤️

1860. gobble, gobble

 

a plump turkey tail
its fungi feathers blooming
real feast for the eyes 🦊❤️

The trails are teeming with fabulous fungi.  Turkey Tails perch on rotting logs like blossoming flowers reminding me that everyday is Thanksgiving Day. 🦊❤️

1859. lunch ala ikea

 

assembling a lunch
swedish meatballs and salad
lingonberry too 🦊❤️

Lunch at Ikea is always a treat. The little Swedish flag flies high on its namesake meatballs.  🦊❤️

1858. simple definition of a tree

 

digging deep in dirt
reaching into emptiness
they call it a tree 🦊❤️

Tree: A bridge between earth and space.  🦊❤️

1857. paradox of the burl

 

if our woes grew burls
we would look like this gnarled tree
full of precious bumps 🦊❤️

Burls are bumps that sometime grow on certain trees as a result of  the trees being injured, parasitic attacks, fungal infections and other known and unknown negative impacts. The burls can grow quite large and can look very unsightly and quite grotesque. The paradox is however that burls are highly sought after by woodworkers because of their exquisite grain patterns and are worth lots of money. While our woes may look pretty ugly, if we look inside them there just may be many beautiful things to be learned that are worth their weight in  gold.  🦊❤️