Trees of Julington Durbin Preserve

Looking at the tree tops today. Sun was just coming up and lit up the branches. I really like the crisp outlines against the blue sky in the mornings. I'll have to work some pastels up out of these.

The first one I was struck by the downward curve on the limbs on the bottom half of the tree. Why do they grow like that? I love the curves, whatever the reason.

The next one I really liked the wrought iron curly cues on the branches.

The last one I liked because it just looks like a fractal.

Morning is best

Have I mentioned that I love walking in the woods in the morning? If I have, pardon me for repeating myself, but it's true. I hear birds singing and fluttering in the saw palmettos. The noise of early morning traffic is muffled by the trees, like distant surf. I especially love it when it's foggy out. The dog gets spooked and hangs back instead of tugging ahead on her leash. Multiple layers of trees and grasses, in greens and browns and blacks loom out at me and then, as they recede into the mist, become gray ghosts. When you look up, the sky is bright blue with pink clouds all across it, like cotton candy.

Reason enough to get up

The sunrise this morning was beautiful. I took pictures of the clouds through my windshield while driving down St. Augustine Road, doubtless endangering my life and my dog's, but I couldn't help myself. And the only other people on the road are early garage sale shoppers. Those people are nuts.

And then, toward the end of our run in the preserve I looked up and realized that I was forgetting to enjoy the tops of the trees. I'm always so focused on what's going on at eye level and sometimes really lovely things are happening right over my head.

Opposites attract

I took these on the same morning. I got there early enough to see the moon and stayed late enough to greet the sun. That's pretty magical. The beginning of the walk is spooky and quiet but by the end of it the trees look like they're on fire and all the birds are yakking away. Who knows what they're going on about? 

Transitions

This is how it is walking in the mornings. It's dark at the beginning, and then by the time you come around to where you started, the sun is up and you have a new perspective. You've talked yourself right out of whatever you thought was impossible when you woke up. Of course, it works the other way, too.

Fog and scrag

Interesting that the shapes of trees turn more menacing when they're cloaked in fog. The dog was completely spooked for the first twenty minutes of our walk on this day. But typically, she got distracted early on and forgot to be scared.