Day 91: Waiting for the Leaves

 Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project  No Responses »
Apr 012014
 

I am embarrassed — quite literally — by the riches of this springtime.  Again and again, I find myself at a loss as to what a blooming roadside weed, shrub, or even tree might be.  Today, along Piney Woods Church Road, I encountered a tree, still devoid of leaves, holding clusters of brightly glowing tiny yellow blooms.  I scanned my tree field guides and hundreds of images on the Internet in vain.  I suspect it is a tree of which I am quite familiar, but one that I have never noticed in blossom before.  Over the years, I have spent many spring days in search of woodland wildflowers, learning their forms and habits.  Yet I have never bothered to learned to identify trees by their blooms.  I suppose I will have to wait for the leaves…..

Addendum:  On April 3rd, I finally figured out what these blossoms are:  sassafras (Sassafras albidum).  Compare the image below to this one.

Waiting for the Leaves

 

Day 90: A Lovely Spring Afternoon

 Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Mar 312014
 

I wasn’t certain what to call today’s photograph, which shows the leaves unfurling on another shrub along Piney Woods Church Road.  I have not been able to identify the plant yet, embarrassingly common though it is along the roadside.  I have a longer list of what it is not, but that doesn’t help much with figuring out a label.  I took this photograph on a lovely spring afternoon, and I think it captures well the grace and vibrancy of this time of year, when the land, dormant for this past long winter, is bursting with new life.

Lovely Spring Afternoon

Day 89: Fallen Cedar

 Backyard Nature, Geometry and Nature, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project  No Responses »
Mar 302014
 

I have been reading lately about the Miksang way of photography, also known as contemplative photography — an approach inspired by Tibetan Buddhism.  The central premise of Miksang (which means “good eye” in Tibetan) is that photography can emerge out of flashes of pure perception — sudden moments when some aspect of the world around us impinges upon our consciousness in a powerful and immediate way.  When we train ourselves to tune into those experiences, we can use a camera as a way of creating equivalents — visual representations of them.

This is all a long-winded explanation for why I ended up taking this photograph of a single branch of cedar lying in a mud rut along Piney Woods Church Road today.

Fallen Cedar

 

Day 84: A New Leaf

 Backyard Nature, Geometry and Nature, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project  No Responses »
Mar 252014
 

I ventured out this afternoon into a brisk north wind, wearing my heavy winter jacket.  Where had spring gone?  The high wind made it considerably more difficult to photograph new growth on the shrubs and trees along Piney Woods Church Road, including this tulip poplar seedling.  When the sun emerged from behind a cloud, though, the late-day lighting was marvelous.  I fear for all these tender leaves, though, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-20s overnight.

A New Leaf

Day 83: On the Road

 Agriculture and Husbandry, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Mar 242014
 

I’m on my way again, returning home down Piney Woods Church Road.  I pause to appreciate the shadow of a pasture gate on the gravel roadway surface.  Only later, going back through the images to select one for today, do I notice the cow grazing in the background.  There are always more things to discover, all around us.

On the Road

Day 82: New Leaves Emerging

 Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Mar 232014
 

Almost everywhere I look along Piney Woods Church Road, buds are bursting open and new leaves emerging on the trees and shrubs.  I feel so ignorant, because most of them I cannot actually identify yet, until the leaves unfurl completely and flowers bloom.  And maybe not even then…

New Leaves Emerging

 

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