Watch, don’t turn your back,
Never let your senses slack,
When into the woods
You journey.
For it is there,
That wild beasts lay idle,
And hide,
Until dusk draws near.
Then, just as the sun’s glow
Begins to fade,
The beasts awaken,
No longer hiding from the day’s trespassers.
They pounce,
And if you are not prepared,
Your heart may skip a beat, and
With a fleeting moment of fear,
You’ll run, then disappear.
copyright Robyn Graham
Complexity and Simplicity of Nature and Light
copyright Robyn Graham
The Tree
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
While John and the boys were camping this weekend, Gracie and I took advantage of the quiet time and rented a movie. It was her treat to choose dinner, pizza of course, and the movie. She chose “The Lorax”. Can I tell you that I enjoyed the movie very much? I really did. The quote above was shown on the screen towards the end of the movie, and of course can be found in the book by none other than Dr. Seuss. Gracie enjoyed the movie so much she asked the boys to watch it with her when they arrived home. It was a hit all the way around. And the quote above, what more can I say about it? I love it. Dr. Seuss certainly had a way with words and his quotes have so much meaning, as well as application for all generations.
As I was contemplating which image to post this evening this tree came to mind in light of having watched “The Lorax”. We were in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina recently and the trees with the Spanish Moss hanging from them reminded me of Dr. Seuss trees. With that said, I thought it appropriate to post an image of one of the trees with Spanish Moss.
It is not an award winning image by any many means, but I liked the contrast in the lighting and it reminded me of Dr. Seuss.
All my life I have loved the Dogwood Tree. As a child growing up in Southern Illinois, we would see them amongst the Redbud, Oak, Maple, and other trees along Interstate 64 and marvel at their beauty. My parents told my sisters and I the legend of the tree when we were young. Since that time, the trees have had even more meaning to me. My husband and I have had them at both of our homes and enjoy the blooms every spring. Below is the legend as well as some links that you can visit to learn more details about it. Over the next few days, I’ll post images of the Dogwood tree in our front yard. You’ll understand why it gives us such pleasure when you see the pretty flowers it bares each spring.
The Beautiful Legend of the Dogwood Tree
Legend has it that at the time of Christ’s crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other monarchs of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength it was selected as the wood for the cross. To be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed and saddened the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Christ, in his gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all, said to the tree – “Because of your sorrow and pity for My suffering, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross — two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints, brown with rust and stained with red, and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember.”
http://www.promiseofgod.com/dogwood/
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/sweetgeorgiapeach/dogwood.html
What a gorgeous day for a day dream – oh that’s right, I was running – the old song was just going through my mind. 😉
As I was running I couldn’t help but notice the numerous, gorgeous, pink blossoms on plum trees around the neighborhood. The thought of going home to capture the beauty of them thrilled me. I was eager, but it was a busy day and I decided to wait until sunset to be able to use my favorite light to capture the purity and essence of the glorious flowers. The images below are the results of my wait. I hope you like them as much as I do. Can’t you just feel the softness? I absolutely love the plum blossoms and the look of the petals, almost as though they are soft, fluffy clouds dipped in pink. Enjoy the variations in lighting too. The sunset was often behind clouds this evening. You will be able to tell the images in which the sun was strong. The blossoms in the light are so warm and bright with the blossoms out of the sun’s reach being underexposed. Made for great contrast within the images.
Robyn Graham Photography 