My blog has moved

You will be automatically redirected to the new address.

If that does not occur, please visit http://umberdove.com/blog;.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Observations at Twin Falls














One of the strangest things to me about photographs is how small they seem.  Standing on that bridge, a sharp wind blowing bits of spray onto my cheeks, the evergreens crowding my nostrils, the mating calls of song birds persistently ringing above the thundering of the waterfall, I felt so tiny.  The trees canopied over my head, and I could see so far from my little wooden perch, the entire river laid out like an eternity below me. 

***

I faced off with a humming bird, but as we were of equal size, we were an equal match.  For ten long minutes we sized each other up, I bound to the ground, standing in the midst of the most beautiful swarm of golden gnats, the humming bird high in a tree, sitting frozen one second, buzzing threateningly the next, red breast flickering flames in the sunlight.

***

I saw my first trillium of the season, no small event for my year.  I keep noticing trilliums in my dreams.  As I'm hiking through brittle snow, I look down and dozens of bright white petals are springing up around my feet, I look closer and see that the snow is just a thin layer of ice and I am actually walking above the treetops of some underground world.  I realize if I stomp and crack that ice, the trilliums and I will fall through in one brilliant tumble of blooms like a bird shot in flight.

***

I sat quietly before three totem trees.  Gnarled and twisting, eyes raised like the saints, each seemed to hold a thousand faces.  Ferns sprouted twenty feet up in every which direction, the unruly hair of the elderly.  I tried to listen, but my young ears could not be silent long enough to hear their song, so instead I bowed and promised to return with a more patient spirit.

***

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love walks like this one. Where your all out there with nature, where nature gently puts you in your place, and reminds you just how beautiful it can be. :)

UmberDove said...

Exactly Elly! It always shocks me that I could have forgotten, that I can fall in love again and again with the trees, that I love that gritty connection with the earth.

siiiiigggggggggghhhhhhhh.



I want to go out again tomorrow.

candacemorris said...

that label is my favorite.

and lady of the forest, annie was with you.

how i long for the clarity of mind...silence to hear the wind...


i hate being so consumed.
damned paralysis of indecision.

BC said...

That timer shot on the log is awesome. You were moving quick!

Love knowing that you are reconnecting, it's been too long.

AppaloosaMoon said...

...i can feel the log beneath my body & my balance shifting...i can feel the texture of the bark & the winged creature resting...i can smell the scent of the woodlands & feel the pine boughs touch my cheek...i can see the sunlight cascading down upon the waters cool & deep...thank you...for this.

UmberDove said...

oh Nancy, thank you!

Michele said...

The trees....The spirit....The grace...The grandeur....

emilyclare said...

Oh to be on that walk, I would be there in an instant - tredding softly behind...

she said...

lovely, redwood. i too love the teeter shot. i think we can find strength in uncertain times...either that, or fall off and get scratched and maybe soaked. i suppose that either way, we're okay...