When The Gallery called for trees this week, ‘Because you can never have enough trees,’ I stepped into my garden, camera in hand, a prime specimen to seek.
As I walked barefoot through the grass, with Alice toddling along precariously and our cat not far behind, I considered that if it weren’t for blogging I probably wouldn’t be doing this. ‘This’ being taking a moment, with camera in hand, to stop and really notice the beauty in my garden. I would have stepped out to throw a ball about with the girls, do some weeding, put out the rubbish, feed the cat, sweep the stones from the patio (that Alice turfs out continuously from the flower beds), and water the plants. But it was the exercise of taking a photograph, purposefully, that really brought my attention to the present.
Alice reached her arms up in a gesture wanting to be picked up. With her on my hip, and camera around my neck, I stepped through the overgrown pathway at the back of our garden to follow the call of a Tui.
I juggled to focus the lens, with Alice reaching out to explore the camera. I spotted three Tui flirting in the trees, dancing their feathered tango and chortling their throaty song.
And then the cheerful chirp of a Fantail danced into view, instantly making me think of my dear Mum (they are her favourite New Zealand bird). On her visits here we have often been treated to the presence of a Fantail, flitting along beside us as we walked. This is the natural habit of a fantail, as our walking disturbs the insects on which it feeds, but often our little visitor would make an appearance whenever we were talking of loved ones now departed. Mum and I like to think of our friend the Fantail as a sign from Grandma that she’s watching over us. Indeed, the day after Grandma passed on, whilst I sat at my computer by a window, a Fantail came right up to the glass and hovered for several moments. This had never happened before and hasn’t happened since.
And so, I digress, the theme is ‘trees’, not ‘birds’, but trees are the lungs of our planet and the givers of life and food to so many wonderous creatures. As I marveled at the richness of nature, stopping to point out things to Alice and hand her a piece of lavender to roll between her fingers, my mind drifted to the threat of a nuclear meltdown in Japan.
I am frequently alarmed by the devastation caused by our species presence on the planet.
I have three children, who I love dearly, but can’t help feeling a little selfish in creating at times!
Whenever I buy them lunch box fillers, overly wrapped in packaging, I cringe. It is a parents responsibility, and a heavy one it is, to raise them to be conscious of their ecological footprint. Perhaps I should raise them to be a little army of tree planters. I fear that we are currently taking more than we are giving when all is balanced out.
My eyes sought out the large trees on the hill that rises up beyond our property. They were swaying in the wind, standing strong; whilst wrapped in a sheet of tarpaulin, on that same hill, was freshly cut fire wood to keep someone warm in the coming winter.
All around us the Earth provides. Trees, we can definitely NEVER have too many of them.
Please visit ‘Trees for Survival’ – there are many wonderful people doing so much work to readdress the balance. I used to spend weekends volunteering at local native-tree planting schemes. I vow to do this with my children, as soon as Alice is a little more independent and has learned the art of planting and not just digging x
Related posts
June 26, 2013 The Photo Gallery | Green
September 22, 2010 If trees could SMILE: The Gallery – Week 28
October 5, 2011 The Photo Gallery – Green
September 12, 2011 There was a little green fairy in the garden today
June 1, 2011 The Gallery: I’m Grateful For
May 25, 2011 The Gallery – My Backyard
This is such a lovely post, thought provoking as well as a sweet reminder of our recent time in New Zealand. It is so beautiful there. Thanks too for your comment and suggestion on my post this morning. (morning here, anyway) I did as you suggested and look forward to going back to see some of the other tree posts.
This is such a lovely post, so well written. And i totally agree, whenever I think of blogging something I always see it in a different more detailed light X
What an absolutely beautiful and thought-provoking post. So right about seeing things in a different light too. Beautiful photographs x
What a lovely read…and to see 3 Tui birds and our beloved fantails that are just magical in your beautiful garden.Trees are indeed the lungs of the earth and do an amazing job as well as being so beautiful be they big or small. We had to paint trees in art this week and use sticks to draw the branches…sticks or spent matches…it was great fun.I’ll put up my finished painting on a message to you when daddy has taken a photo of the original !!
I couldn’t agree more, its the great thing about the gallery, getting you to go out and think about taking photo’s.
I am with you on saving trees today. I liked what you said about being in the now. Anything that encourages this is a very good thing. I have seen so many cherished trees today, they are indeed the planet’s lungs, makes you think.
wonderful photos
what sites do you use to display them?
dont you just LOVE blogging 🙂
your hill looks a little like ours
love you garden and the birds that choose to call it home 🙂
How fortunate we are to live in a part of the world that has so much unique flora and fauna. I never tire of seeing tuis, fantails, kaka and other native birds in their natural habitats. And agree with what you said about the blogging giving you a reason to ‘get amongst it’. If nothing else, blogging has made me view life through a completely different lens….one that is a little more rose tinted and that’s not a bad thing hey!
Hi Jen, I use Google’s ‘Picasa’ to format photographs and create collages. I’ve also heard ‘Photobucket’ and ‘Picnic’ are great.
I love the birds so much too and that we have lots of lovely natives for them to feast on 🙂
Dear Sarah, thank you for reminding me of how we find memories of loved ones in all sorts of places. When my older brother died in 2009 we were forever finding tuis coming in to our lives. Standing outside at the hospice we felt a sense of peace through all the turmoil and despair being felt at that time when listening to the birdsong surrounding us. Tuis were around us and with us as we buried him in the family plot at Karori. When Mum died last year again we were visited by the tuis as we again buried a loved one in the family plot. Our family is in the process of gifting some land to the city of Wellington in Wadestown. My father has built a monument in memory of his marriage and also as a mark of our family history and last weekend we had the dedication of that monument. Before it all happened I went there alone and was surrounded by tuis, fantails and bellbirds enjoying the bountiful feast that the bush had to offer. Truly I knew that my brother and mother were with us for the occasion. Thanks you for letting me share my memories, Catherine