In much the same vein as my previous entry, this image once again finds me looking way back at things that were in their prime long before I came along.
I cycle past this fallen tree quite regularly. It sits on a quiet curve between the river and the bike path, and like the shattered building I wrote about yesterday, has been on my want-to-capture list for quite some time. So on a stinking hot afternoon on my way home from work a couple of weeks back, I parked the bike and observed it from a number of angles.
On the surface, it's little more than dead wood, something that no longer contributes to the world around it.
I'd like to think otherwise. Wouldn't you, too?
Your turn: How can an old piece of wood inspire those who stop in on their way past? Why would you stop to observe something like this?
Michele sent me to visit, Carmi. Hi!
ReplyDeleteTrees have such great texture and it only gets better as they age. And death adds ever more texture as insects, fungi and bacteria make their mark on the fallen tree. I love pictures of old trees with moss growing on their bark, laying quietly as they slowly return to the ground from which they once rose.
I guess that would be my inspiration, Carmi. Seeing the carbon cycle in action!
I'd stop to appreciate it because I've come to appreciate things that have aged. I'm still relatively young (31) and find that people and/or things that have aged show great character. At least the majority do.
ReplyDeleteIt's much prefered to spend time with older people before they have passed, of course (heh), but you get the jist of what I'm trying to say.
because an old peice of wood usually becomes an amazing habitat for other creatures. as moss grow and the wood lice move in! or just as children stop, press paper against it and rub with their crayons. or sit on it and serve afternoon tea :)
ReplyDeletegreat picture babe.
I have always loved things like that...be they a fallen log, or an old tree, still standing. Look at the knots and the bumps. What stories do they tell you? Where did that carving come from? Is the couple still together...so many trees, so many stories..so little time.
ReplyDeleteI see the profile of an aligator in there! But since one lives literally across the street from me in a pond, maybe I just have 'gator on the brain.
ReplyDeleteThe sensual texture. The possibility that with time, it will become a mother log for other plants to root in, inside the cracks where leaf mould and soil has drifted?
ReplyDeleteWonderful shot, as always.
ReplyDeleteLooks like craggy skin on a wise, older person, you know? So, in that regard, it deserves respect.
I feel positively Buddhist right now. :-)
I think anything of nature should inspire people to stop on their way past. An old tree has so much to tell about the environment and whats going on around it. Animals, plants.. name it.
ReplyDeleteHere from Michele's today, Carmi, but I'd come anyway :)
Trees always have such a great history; some have been here hundreds of years. One thinks about what they have seen.
ReplyDeleteMichele sent me here.
Iteseting to also speculate upon the world events that the tree has lived through.
ReplyDeleteThe texture breaks also look similar to dwellings viewed from the air.
Here today from Michele's.
rashbre
In the world of the Natives of Canada and other (Inuit and Alert Bay) am many other groups, the wood totem is a very necessary part of community, (see Margaret Craven - I heard the owl call my name)
ReplyDeleteLike the Inuit Inookshuk of stone to mark area and trail, the wood Totem markes the evolution and belief of a particular tribe by location.
Every piece of fallen wood has a story, climatically and growth wise during it life if we study the rings.
Wood can be studied, it can teach us about the past, present and future, and it makes great sculpture medium.
Old wood has a story to tell - if only we knew ALL the right questions
Cheers
Jeremy
Here via Michele's again! I don't think things necesarily have to be alive to contribute. eg. The MEMORY of a loved one that has passed can play a big part in the way we live our future.
ReplyDelete