Sunday, December 25, 2011

Joy

My late father-in-law transformed the way I see leafless trees.  Before I met him, trees in wintertime seemed stark, depressing, cold, close to death.

My father-in-law loved to draw bare trees.  In careful, intricate detail, he traced them, from the massive trunk to the graceful, delicate shapes of every branch and twig.  Now when I go for a winter walk, as I did this morning, I am surrounded by beautiful, surprising sculptures, no two alike.  It's like wandering through an open-air art gallery, populated by squirrels.

"You don't run down the present, pursue it with baited hooks and nets.  You wait for it, empty-handed, and you are filled."

Annie Dillard
Pilgrim At Tinker Creek

9 comments:

Dianne said...

Merry Christmas
I have always loved bare tree limbs
they are like sculpture and many remind me of old wise hands telling a story

Warped Mind of Ron said...

Merry Christmas... naked trees!!! Woo Hoo!!!

DarcKnyt said...

Merry Christmas, Spark! As someone who used to love to draw, I can tell you, nekkid trees are big fun. :)

God bless. See ya in 2012. You know, BEFORE the end of the world.

DarcsFalcon said...

A lovely sentiment Spark. :) You make it sound so pretty.

Lynn said...

What a lovely moment you had - a special connection.

Jameil said...

I know exactly what he means! In the right place and the righ tlight, bare trees can be gorgeous!

Jenski said...

A great reminder to see the beauty in all things - especially when those bare trees have a dusting of snow or layer of sparkling ice. :-)

LL Cool Joe said...

Have you still got the tree drawing or painting that you showed ages ago on your blog?

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas Spark!

Granny Annie said...

I love to draw "nudes" and that includes naked trees:)