Sometimes a place has a soulful feeling
about it. Off behind our house are three deserted farms which overlap
in a series of fallow fields and gorse covered hillocks. Each of them
has a farmyard haggard overgrowing with an ever increasing wildness.
There are corners which have been long forgotten and hold memories
and echoes of the past.
In the corner of a small grove this Ash
tree commands a striking pose, back to a low wall and branches
outstretched. Even in the sparsest winter this grove is a haven of
lush wooded green. Mosses and ivy cover every inch of it.
If a tree could tell you something of
it's individuality, this one speaks of confidence and ease. So
perfect is it's setting that entering in here you immediately feel
the carefulness that is required to delicately negotiate around the
space, in case you might disturb things. Tiny pink wood anemones
cover the earth and twisted matted ivy stems braid around the trees
and their branches. It is almost like entering a green room more like
a library or a small chapel than a forest.
The tree presides over the little grove
like a sentry on duty or a mother embracing all protectively. Where
most trees reach upwards, here is one that reaches outwards.
I go here each season and remember as
Jung once said, “You will find yourself again only in the simple
and forgotten things, why not go into the forest.....sometimes a tree
tells you more than you read in books” There is no real separation
between us and this tree. At least that's what my own instinct tells
me when I am in it's shadow. Do you know what I mean?
I do so know what you mean. I gain strength from trees. They connect me to their roots and the earth. I love this post and how wonderfully you expressed this lovely feeling about a majestic tree....wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice way to put it Donna, I think they do give out an aura of strength which can be very empowering, thanks X
ReplyDeleteLovely :) That's exactly what I need to do right now (well in daylight anyway).
ReplyDeleteWe share that stepping into a cathedral feeling near great trees.
ReplyDeleteI love trees too. Like the twisted roots on the second pic. Somethings just shouldn't be straightened. It's also amazing to see the growth on the tree...
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written with matching photography. Your words are romanticizing a tree that deserves it. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteHow lucky are you to have a place like this to go, and what glorious pictures. Looks so tranquil and peaceful.
ReplyDeleteFabulous photos and such descriptive prose. i feel like that sometimes when I look out at the 100 year old trees over our back garden, sepecially with the rain thundering down. I really feel it though when I'm on the beach, alone..
ReplyDeletexx Jazzy
Sounds like a very special place
ReplyDeleteTrees share their years with us. Bunches of them always remind me of an Entmoot, which used to happen in Middle Earth when there were important issues to be resolved among trees. So they might be talking with each other too.
ReplyDeleteThat tree looks enchanting but somehow depending on the area around it, that may look scary. Do you know that hugging trees impart to us the chi which can enhance our energies? And going into the forest full of negative ion concentration will make us envigorated, recharged and enhance our state of well-being. Communion with them makes us also very sensitive to the divine, and make us one with them. Maybe even Henry David Thoreau experienced what Jung said.
ReplyDeleteIf I could draw, it would be nothing but trees and did you really snap that badger?
ReplyDeleteYes thank you all. Thank goodness there are so many tree lovers out there! Yea Catherine I snapped the badger a few moments before paddy cut him free of a wire trap. A controversial move perhaps but.............there it is.
ReplyDeleteEspecially the old trees give me a magical feeling. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photo's
ReplyDeleteMarijke
That tree reminds me of the tree in the movie "FernGully" and what a great message that movie left us :) Beautiful pictures!
ReplyDelete