Category Archives: Things great and small

Tree voices

Christmas Eve busy winding along to Christmas day but I haven’t forgotten waking early thinking of trees. I wondered why and listened hard but found them still and silent in the dark outside my window. Not satisfied, I wrapped in flannel and opened the door. Trees patiently, quietly standing washed in rain.

evergreen

I don’t see them, but I hear the early call of a few birds at their prayers – loud praises. No doubt most are huddled in evergreen and bush and brush from the steady rain, whispering bird praises.

I think it a companionable gathering – birds and trees. Storms and disease take their toll, but in life and death, trees live to serve and shelter them.

evergreen

This Christmas eve, I’m not really listening for bird call but I strain to catch other voices, to hear the trees whispering. I am sure they were calling me from sleep. But I hear nothing. Maybe it’s just the breath of fresh greenery in the house. I’ve shared my early memory of trees before and I wonder if my small self heard their voices then.

Trees are like a wondrous, rich inheritance, but one taken for granted, I’m afraid. From Genesis to Revelation, trees are pictured, connecting to us in parable. They are portrayed with their own rich life, lively and nurturing and protecting. In parable, I too can have a rich tree-like life – thriving and strong, serving and sheltering.

lighted evergreen

I’m so glad we celebrate Christmas with trees; they teach me to rejoice too! Listen, you might hear them clap their hands! Now on this silent night, I listen for the rustle of their praise and add my own to the chorus.

Christmas treeMerry Christmas to all!

 

 

Deep into autumn

mellow time  Sumac red and dogwood mahogany fade to apricot this long and extraordinary season.

mellow road Russet and gold mellow; the world is quieting.

ice on birdbath  Ice begins to form on the birdbath and this year the Snowbirds compete with the Goldfinches at the thistle feeder.

frost  Frost twinkles in the early light before sun.

Loch Raven  Contours and features long hidden in green come back into focus.

first snow  And one night, the first snow drifts down. Time to settle into warm clothes, lamplight, comforting foods and wrapping my heart extra tight in gratitude for wonder and blessing.

October bows out with flourishes

I found these lovely words by Will Carleton, American poet:

Sweet and smiling are thy ways, Beauteous, golden, Autumn days!

Bright jewel colors still linger.

October

There are mysteries this year of purple leaves and fallen oak leaves, blooms with berries and brilliance in tree tops.

October

Sunsets glorious with clouds end days.

October

 

Treasure Hunting on a Windy Day

Loch RavenToo windy for reflections this beautiful day, but as I turned away from the water view, a glimpse of color near my feet sent me off on a hunt for tiny treasures.

Loch Raven“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”               William Cullen Bryant

Several autumns we drove from Elmira to Ithaca, both towns in New York. Near the end of this route we would come round a bend and the hillside would be swathed with purple. I always wondered what trees turned purple, but this year we have purple trees in our neighborhood! They are a bit difficult to photograph, there are not many places to stop on winding country roads but I captured this one on the drive home. IMG_4139From Seeing Trees, I am learning about anthocyanin, a blue, violet or red pigment found in the leaves of some trees. It’s activity is  dependent on sunlight, rainfall and weather. Our long cool and sunny days are producing interesting variations in the leaf color of maple trees this year. I’m learning to pay attention to these wonderful details.

 

Growing Oak Trees

I found this poem to share. It is a wonderful metaphor for the life of faith, I think. Scripture calls us to yield and to become “oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord” – Isaiah 61

Can you see your life in these lines?

.IMG_1569

 The Acorn

In a small green cup an acorn grew

                On a tall and stately oak;

The spreading leaves the secret knew,

                And hid it like a cloak.

The breezes rocked it tenderly,

                The sunbeams whispered low,

“Some day the smallest acorn here

                Will make an oak, you know.”

The little acorn heard it all,

                And thought it quite a joke;

How could he dream an acorn small

                Would ever be an oak?

He laughed so much that presently

                He tumbled from his cup,

And rolled a long way from the tree,

                Where no one picked him up.

Close by him was a rabbit hole,

                And when the wind blew high,

Down went the acorn with a roll

                For weeks in gloom to lie.

But, one bright day, a shoot of green

                Broke from his body dry,

And pushed its way with longing keen

                To see the glorious sky.

It grew and grew, with all its might,

                As weeks and months rolled on;

The sunbeam’s words were proving right.

                For, ere a year had gone,

The shoot became a sturdy plant,

                While now the country folk

Can sit beneath the spreading leaves

                Of a mighty forest oak.

                                                                           Anonymous

Sunday hours at the river

There were three wonders to absorb my play time at the park. Gunpowder

1. Three oak trees clustered along the bank where we chose to sit. I have not yet identified them, but perhaps a reader knows. There seem to be a dozen species native to this state.

Oak 1   oak 2   Oak 3

2. Sweet gum trees. I had learned that the color of these leaves is dependent on cool nights and sunny days. The range of color on a single tree is amazing.

Sweet Gum Even the stems are colorful! Sweet Gum

3. Black Walnuts – so many trees! You will notice them first by the fruit.

Black Walnuts   Black walnuts   Black walnut

The thick green husk gives way to thick shell. Only persistence will yield the nut meats. Lacking my own trees and having heard the tales of blackened hands – from the husks – and the challenge of wresting the meat from the shell, I’ve never opened one, preferring to buy the delicious morsels by the bag. The taste is not at all like that of English walnuts. If you are not familiar with the taste of them a great way to start is with Black Walnut Jiffy Cake which is one of the easiest cakes to make. I highly recommend it! Follow the link to the recipe. It freezes well so it can be made ahead of the holidays. No frosting is needed. And, as my Great Aunt would say, I hope you have good luck with this!

I so agree with Anne –

park

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers”

Anne Shirley – Anne of Green Gables

 

 

Cloudy with a hope of change

Last night’s storm left a slow-to-lift cloud cover. Waiting in traffic, I watched it hovering behind the communication and power lines that cross here. I thought about how sometimes mental or emotional dark clouds seem to hang like a backdrop for life and communication.

clouds

As I drove on, I remembered that as a child, stories and poetry gave me the impression of softness and comfort in clouds and then how shocked I had been on my first plane ride through clouds to find them anything but! Turbulence is hidden within.

clouds

Those are not cotton balls! Unseen turbulence swirls in all the beauty. Unseen turbulence swirls on earth these days too. It is unsettling to say the least. For your life, I pray that the storms pass and you will see the earth is refreshed, the air is cleared, and a beautiful day awaits you.Clouds