Monday, October 7, 2013

SLOW OR STUBBORN?


Yesterday's rain ended during the night. The river is muddy and still rising, albeit slowly, and thankfully doesn't appear headed to crest much higher than halfway up the bank. Not in the least worrisome. Moreover, it's been sunny all day…and while cooler, still a weather change more in keeping with the season.

As is the norm hereabouts when it comes to the donning of the annual autumnal colors, scads of maples up the road are proudly showing their fancy hues. Oranges, reds, yellows, golds.

Meanwhile, streamside views remain mostly green. A few yellowish hackberry leaves. A treetop patch of brown sycamore leaves exquisitely backlit by the westering sun. And most eye-catching of all, the scarlet flames of Virginia creeper spiraling up the trunk of the massive sycamore which leans over the pool across from the cottage. 

Which makes me wonder—are the trees and shrubs, vines and bushes of this floodplain corridor woods just being slow or are they turning stubborn? Do they feel, deep in their photosynthesizing hearts a reluctance to let go, an opposition to giving into the pull of change? Are they so accustomed to resisting the flow of the river, they can't help but resist the flow of the season? 

Well, I understand, not being a fan of change myself. But maybe it's not so much about resisting the change—merely about bucking the schedule. 

Change? Sure…when I get ready to change. But not a minute sooner! 

As a contrary Irishman, with a bullheaded streak a mile wide—just ask anyone!—I understand that, too. 

6 comments:

Gail said...

HI GRIZZ - yopu and nature, side by side, each gives the othre understanding and wisdiom - there are few relationships as honest as this. I love it. Your pictures are glorious as Summer hangs on and Autumn demands a place, one morning you will awake and all with be different. I promise. A good thing for sure. As it is suppose to be. As nature decides.
Love to you my friend
Gail
peace.....
p.s do you know what the tiny tangerine and oval shaped berries are that are nestled on green pointed leaves. We found some in the star magnolia tree and were wondering what they are.

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

Nature watching and awareness has always been one of the great pleasures in my life. Both Mom and Dad were the same, so I guess I come by it naturally. And while it might seem an unlikely source, I believe have learned things from trees…though I don't think the reverse is true. And you are right in that change will come, sooner or later, even if right now here on the riverbank we're a bit behind.

I'd really need to see a pix of those berries and leaves to have much of a shot at identification. But as a guess—and purely a guess, and probably wrong—one thing which comes to mind is bittersweet. (I'm assuming it must be a viney plant mixed into the star magnolia tree, and bittersweet does have—at one stage—orange, oval berries. Look at some images online. It could also be one of the honeysuckles—though they aren't viney.)

Gail said...

HI GRIZZ - thanks for the possible type of berry I asked about. Its not bittersweet berry, I looked it up. I will try and find some still about and take a picture. Interestingly, this particular star magnolia is about 20 years old and this is the first year these oval orange berries appeared. Strange, huh?
And I so agree that trees teach us so much as do flowers and the rivers and lakes, storms and gardens, all of it a wealth of natural information. Beautiful.
Love Gail
peace.....

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

I've done what I should have done the first time around…actually looked up star magnolias to see if they produces those orange, oval berries. They do! They're the seed from the tree's pods—the reproductive "fruit." Different magnolia species produce different looking seeds. Here's a like that might be your particular berreis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_grandiflora)

Apparently it not unusual for a magnolia to wait for 15-20 years before it begins producing these seeds. Anyway, take a look—do a search for star magnolia seedpods, and see if you don't find a match.

Gail said...

Thanks SO much Grizz - I am headed over to the link now. you are amazing.
Love Gail
peace....

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

Moon-the-Dog tells me the same this every time I pull a treat from my pocket…amazing! ;-)