The wisteria blooms are all spent now, save for a few shriveled flower petals that haven’t yet fallen onto the roadway. Yet, for all its aggressiveness, Chinese wisteria also offers moments of dazzling beauty. Even after the flowers are gone, the leaves still captivate me, illuminated by late afternoon light. They glow like the finest stained glass, turning a rural lane into a chapel for contemplating the cosmos.
I set out down Piney Woods Church Road this morning still carrying the heavy burden of the recent news of a much-loved local store’s plans to close in May. Although clouds and storms are expected this afternoon, the morning sky was mostly clear and the sun angling its light through the trees. Again I was drawn to explore the possibilities of the morning light, this time bathing tulip poplar leaves. I think it would be fitting to refer to these moments of wonder that I find with my camera lens as moments of grace. I am gratefull that a digital camera enables me to share these moments with others.
I was feeling bereft today, walking down Piney Woods Church Road, still digesting the sad and unexpected news that my favorite local hangout, a charming old-time general store, will be closing next month. For most of my walk, wherever I glanced, the magic seemed drained from the landscape. The wisteria blooms had withered, and all the giant red thistles, just beginning to blossom, had been uprooted by a landowner (understandably — it is a pernicious weed) along the roadside. Some of my favorite haunts to look for wildflowers had been mowed in the last day or two. I wondered if I would find anything inviting. That is when I saw the blooming heal-all (Prunella vulgaris), a common introduced lawn weed throughout North America. The late-day sun, low on the horizon, offered intriguing photographic possibilities. The result, after a few minutes of exploration, is this sunlight striking a heal-all flower. There is a radiance in this image that gives me cause for hope, at such a dark time. There is solace to be found in nature, if we pause long enough to let it find us.
Addendum, May 22, 2014: Here is another photograph of the self-heal from the same day’s images. I like it so much that I recently had it printed and mounted on bamboo by Plywerk, Inc. of Portland, Oregon.
New growth on a greenbrier along Piney Woods Church Road glows in Easter light.
On my walk late this afternoon, I explored the possibilities of the late-day sunlight — how it touched certain leaves and branches, lighting them up brilliantly against the background woods. These two images are my favorite from my explorations: studies in yellow and green….
A few minutes shy of sunset, I lay prone on the slope of the ditch at the end of Piney Woods Church Road, trying to capture a few wildflowers in the golden late-day light. On a whim, I placed my camera on the ground and aimed the lens up through the base of the grasses growing there. The result was this enchanting silhouette.
I had a marvelous time exploring Piney Woods Church Road this morning. Strange to say, I walked the its length hundreds of times with our dogs before I began this project, and I was bored with it and really wanted to be anyplace but there. Yet since beginning this project 100 days ago, every day I have found joy and delight exploring this 4/10-mile gravel road. Today I left my wristwatch at home, and spent an hour and a half exploring the early morning light. Here are a few more photographs from my day’s adventures.
I lie prone on the damp ground, gazing through a camera lens at drops of dew clinging to blades of grass in the sunlight. The ground sparkles with minute mirrors, inviting me to pause and reflect. It is Day 100, and I am part-way along Piney Woods Church Road, on my journey home.
Three photographs of spring foliage, all aglow in the golden evening sunlight along Piney Woods Church Road: oak; greenbrier; and poison ivy.
At last, a photograph of Piney Woods Church Road, at about the half-way point. Bathed in golden late-day light, the path appears enchanting. And so it is, and has been, these past three months. I approach a bend in my own journey; tomorrow is the 100th day of the Piney Woods Church Road Project.
