Feb 052014
 

I set out late this afternoon, on the 5th of February, with a specific goal:  to locate a certain water oak tree branch with a solitary leaf at the tip which I had photographed yesterday.  It had rained heavily overnight, and the air had turned colder, with a raw edge to it.  The wind was blowing considerably, at speeds up to fifteen miles per hour.  Needless to say, the leaf was long gone — probably pulled off the branch by a passing gust and carried off.  What was it Bobby Burns said?  “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”  So I am posting yesterday’s shot here instead, as an extra blog post by way of a prologue to today’s photo (which I will post later this evening).

Prologue

Jan 212014
 

I raced and approaching front (with its impending clouds, colder temperatures, and strong winds), getting out to Piney Woods Church Road while  the skies were still clear.  Morning sunshine offered marvelous backlighting for macro photographs of oak leaves, mosses and fern fronds.  The veins on this water oak leaf (Quecus nigra) form a kind of botanical map, reminiscent of medieval strip maps showing paths of pilgrimage (you can view an example of one here).  What kind of journey does this leaf offer us?  What holy lands does it reveal?

Oak Leaf Pilgrimage

Jan 172014
 

In the hour before sunset, walking through the wooded section of Piney Woods Church Road, my eye was caught by three shriveled brown leaves caught on the branch of a shrub.  There was something sensual about their curving forms, and about the way they held the late-day sunlight.  Perhaps “sunsual” is the most fitting word to use.

Suncatcher