The other day, as I was skiing along a quiet path in The Lung, I came around a familiar slightly uphill corner where three teenage balsam fir trees grow. They were all bowed down under the weight of snow, their crowns all bending outward from each other like a tri-plumed bouquet. The shorter ones bending all the way down, their tops anchored into the deep snow on the ground.
"The way a crow shook down on me the dust of snow from a hemlock tree has given my heart a change of mood and saved some part of a day I had rued"- one of my favorite Robert Frost poems, Dust of Snow.
I’m in the middle of that book now. I love how it slows me down and reminds me of what actually matters. The connection. I did an entire series of winter tree photos showing various “human” emotions for an exhibition as I’ve always felt connected to them, but even more so after that project.
Awareness of being part of the system of nature seems like it should be taught in schools. Makes you wonder where Herschel Walker came up with his idea about there being too many trees in Georgia. Seems like every time we get it confused, something happens to drag us back into it. For me, a lot of the time it's wind that calls me to remember that I'm a creature in a somewhat arbitrary system where we only have each other. Neko is definitely onto something here.
As for family, Ms. Case has created several concentric circles of family probably more supportive and organic than a lot of traditional families. Her immediate family seems to be her animals as well as the flora and fauna surrounding her in The Lung. Her musical family is perhaps the next circle. Somewhere beyond that are those of us who listen to her music and the New Pornographers music and read Entering the Lung. I volunteer to be Uncle Fester.
Love this story. Haven't yet had a connection with a tree or plant like that, but recently talked to a Christmas Tree left out on the sidewalk! I will now be noticing trees in a new way.
An "enchanted forest" is what I used to read about as a kid, every bit of nature is spirit and a part of country and dreaming as the Kaurna elder Uncle Moogy asked us on Mourning day to welcome the ancestors North South East and West and to open our hearts to spirit and ancestors. Ninna Marni Neko.
I don’t think your thing with the young trees is sappy at all. I have regular visits with a grandma saguaro (that’s how I think of her) on a trail in Phoenix. I always hike up to her to say hello and tell her that she’s beautiful.
"The way a crow shook down on me the dust of snow from a hemlock tree has given my heart a change of mood and saved some part of a day I had rued"- one of my favorite Robert Frost poems, Dust of Snow.
I’m in the middle of that book now. I love how it slows me down and reminds me of what actually matters. The connection. I did an entire series of winter tree photos showing various “human” emotions for an exhibition as I’ve always felt connected to them, but even more so after that project.
Kimmer is a gift.
Awareness of being part of the system of nature seems like it should be taught in schools. Makes you wonder where Herschel Walker came up with his idea about there being too many trees in Georgia. Seems like every time we get it confused, something happens to drag us back into it. For me, a lot of the time it's wind that calls me to remember that I'm a creature in a somewhat arbitrary system where we only have each other. Neko is definitely onto something here.
As for family, Ms. Case has created several concentric circles of family probably more supportive and organic than a lot of traditional families. Her immediate family seems to be her animals as well as the flora and fauna surrounding her in The Lung. Her musical family is perhaps the next circle. Somewhere beyond that are those of us who listen to her music and the New Pornographers music and read Entering the Lung. I volunteer to be Uncle Fester.
Love this story. Haven't yet had a connection with a tree or plant like that, but recently talked to a Christmas Tree left out on the sidewalk! I will now be noticing trees in a new way.
Absolutely love this. "Braiding Sweetgrass" also changed my whole way of looking at plants and trees, wonderful book.
And the photo!! Something poetic about the relationship between the two subjects.
lovely snow picture.
Emerson said he felt an "occult relation" between himself and plants....they nod to him, and nods to them....
Well, my mom used to scare me with Hiisi (another name for Tapio) so I wouldn’t go wandern alone too deep in the forest when I was a kid 😅
Thank You
An "enchanted forest" is what I used to read about as a kid, every bit of nature is spirit and a part of country and dreaming as the Kaurna elder Uncle Moogy asked us on Mourning day to welcome the ancestors North South East and West and to open our hearts to spirit and ancestors. Ninna Marni Neko.
I don’t think your thing with the young trees is sappy at all. I have regular visits with a grandma saguaro (that’s how I think of her) on a trail in Phoenix. I always hike up to her to say hello and tell her that she’s beautiful.
Were your skis made of wood? Maybe the tree wasn't being friendly or playful. "Get off my cousins!" :-O