Thursday, April 10, 2008

Hemlock woods


It almost seems a shame.
That these beautiful hemlocks were the backdrop to our wildflower hunt last weekend.
And that in autumn, when we seek fall color, they stand, again, in the background--a constant in the season of change.
Their deep color, dark and quiet.

I walked past each small trunk, a display of curls and rounded flaking bark.

Each so different from the last, yet obviously the same.


Like fingerprints--the furrows swirl.

From the darkness of their woods, we found a sunny spot for our lunch.
And looked above to find the that a bright blue sky made them glow a brilliant green.


The sky-- the perfect backdrop for their beauty.




Thanks to Wigger's World for hosting Skywatch Friday each week at his site!

Stumble Upon Toolbar

21 comments:

NCmountainwoman said...

Lovely photographs and a poignant post for those of us in Western NC. Our hemlocks are increasingly infected with the wooly agelid and are dying in great numbers.

Efforts are underway to save some of them, but the treatments are costly and not practical for the large stands in our National Forests. Needless to say, the environmental impact will be huge.

I grieve for them, and for us.

Mary said...

Great post, Nina. Your photos with the blue sky background are wonderful. Spring in OHIO?

dot said...

Wonderful post! I've never seen a hemlock. Thanks for showing me some!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Nina: That is beautiful the way the sun lights up the hemlocks.

Chris said...

I love the curly bark and your beautiful words!

Pappy said...

Great subtlety in these sky peeking through Hemlock shots. I liked it. Greetings and kudos from deep south Texas.

Lilli & Nevada said...

Beautiful shots of the trees and the sky.

FO - 2 said...

Beautiful shots of the Hemlock. :)
It`s a beautiful tree.

Anonymous said...

Your photos with the blue sky background are wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Your selection of photos are nice.

Abraham Lincoln in Brookville, Ohio.

Unknown said...

Beautiful shots of the trees and the sky Nina.

Daniel J Santos said...

great pictures, well done.

Misty DawnS said...

Great photos with great colors. It's nice to see some life and colors coming back into nature now.

Janet said...

Nice description of the hemlock.

Ecobirder said...

Wow that was deep.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

That hemlock bark looks like a fine place for a brown creeper to cozy into for a nesting place. I don'tknow what trees they prefer but I like the looks of these trees.

Tom said...

Hello Nina
Thank you for joining in with Sky Watch.. I did call here and then I forgot to comment. The phone rang, Jane wrote an e-mail. by the time I came back.. well what can I say only I'm very sorry not to have greeted and thanked you before.

I have never seen Hemlock before, that back is beautiful the way it curls and the blue sky in the background is a perfecy example of all thatis needed for sky watch..

Your forgetful and very sorry host
Tom

nina at Nature Remains. said...

ncmountainwoman--I grieve for you, too. Such wonderful trees and the places they create like none other. I'm just reading that they're trying biological control agents (beetles) against woolly adelgids in some areas of the spread--hope it works. And hope they don't head in this direction!

Mary--YES--we have spring! (or we HAD it yesterday--tomorrow maybe snow showers!)

Dot--they're nice quiet trees--and create peaceful spaces.

Fishing guy--yes--aren't they pretty with filtered light behind.

Chris--I loved it, too--such a "soft" shape for bark.

Texican--Yes, the woods were so dense that these brief encounters with sky were striking.

Lilli & Nevada--Thanks--it was a really pretty day!

Ida--Yes, I could have stopped beside each one--such detail in them.

quintarantino--blue sets so many natural things off perfectly.

oldmanlincoln--thanks for the compliment.

John--thanks, it's a nice reason to be out and about!

Daniel--Thanks-

Misty--yes--and sunshine!

rambling round--nice place to sit for a snack!

ecobirder--that happens, sometimes

Lisa--could be--these woods were very secluded--we saw a thrush (hermit?) and I wasn't at all surprised!

Wom--you're forgiven--I know you've got a huge job in hosting these--I'm grateful for your skill at organizing it--and glad for the camaraderie it creates. Thanks!

sonia a. mascaro said...

Great photos! Trees and sky are a wonderful choose for this theme!

Petunia said...

Wish I was there!

Petunia's SWF

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful post. I looked and looked as I re-read. I have not seen these in my woods, but since I am not that observant unless I know what I am looking for, I will look carefully now.