Most mornings, when I wake in the winter season, my apartment complex is surrounded with a gray fog of varying densities. With the fog one notices the outlines of trees with their skeleton branches that seem to be reaching out for one another presenting a mystical look for viewers like me. The dark branches are leafless at this time of year, Most of the trees that I view from my apartment are Big Leaf Maple -- a very common tree in Norhtwest Oregon.
By noon usually the fog has cleared but not always. Sometimes it hangs around all day. On those days my favorite thing to do is to curl up inside and read and read and read. Above are the skeleton looking branches, again, of another Big Leaf. Behind is a large Douglas Fir that even though it is a beautiful green seems gray from the fog. Everything seems enclosed like you are living in a small world.
References:
Gathering Moss -- A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest by Mark Turner and Ellen Huhlm
beautiful. The move is agreeing with you it seems.
ReplyDeleteTabor -- You hit the nail on its head -- yes I do believe that I finally am becoming acclimated to Oregon in a good way. Oregon is so different than Kentucky but I believe both places, Oregon and Kentucky, now have a soft spot in my heart. -- barbara
DeleteHow welcome that green moss is and I imagine the woodpecker is also very welcome. What better to do on a foggy, foggy day than read and read?
ReplyDeleteJune -- Well Oregon and Kentucky have very different cultures and it takes time to adjust to new environments. But each state has added an extra dimension to my life. I feel very lucky to have many varied experiences here in Oregon including the mosses and especially the woodpecker that has started to visit every day (so far). thanks -- barbara
DeleteI like the overhead interlacing branches when the are bare ribs against the sky, and when they are in full leaf, a canopy over the road.
ReplyDeleteJoanne -- Trees are really good for us aesthetically as you point out. Their bare branches etch patterns in the air and with their canopy of leaves gives us beauty coolness, and color. All the tree's seasons offer us so much. thanks -- barbara
DeleteI love the bare bones of your trees...and yes, fog sure does bring out the forms of those branches. My maples are not at all the same as yours, actually I've never seen any like the ones here. I'll have to ask someone who knows threes what kind they might be...very spindly though several decades old. Perhaps they were pruned back a few times, creating density in the crowns. I forget what that technique is called, but I don't really like it.
ReplyDeleteBarbara -- Right now as I write we are experiencing a bit of wind. Our fog is gone but skies are very gray and we are having light rain. Nature can change several times a day anywhere in our country. It is a live show of trees and other natural occurrences that make nature so wonderful. Of course take away earthquakes and tornadoes please. thanks -- barbara
DeleteThat sounds like last winter for me. Almost no fog this winter, although we did have a thin layer this morning. You've captured it nicely!
ReplyDeleteMelissa -- You are near yet far enough to not experience the same weather conditions as us. We have mostly fog in the morning which I find beautiful. And then some at night also. thanks -- barbara
DeleteWe've had so little fog so far this winter and, believe it or not, I really miss it! That's a fine tractor on your header.
ReplyDeleteJohn -- thanks for the comment on the work horse tractor. Fun to find the old farm equipment in rural areas. I find fog very beautiful. But don't like to drive in the thick stuff, -- barbara
DeleteGreat pictures. We don't get fog very often, but when we do it can be really thick and hard to see through. That happened the last time my college boy was home a year ago and we had to take him to the airport for the flight home in January. Definitely not fun to drive in. Of course, his flight was delayed, too. I've been to Kentucky, but never Oregon, and would like to visit one day.
ReplyDeleteTammy - Tammy -- Western Oregon (located between the Pacific coast and the Cascade mountains) is a wet, rainy area during the winter season. Fog seems to work hand and hand with these conditions. Summers are dry. I've experienced those heavy fogs like you mentioned when I lived in Michigan -- driving in them is SCARY. Glad you made the trip to the airport and home again safe and sound. -- barbara
DeleteLove these photographs. They depict something I miss, as a former resident of the Northwest: those grey foggy days when being indoors with a book is the coziest and most comfortable way to be.
ReplyDeleteWhat may seem dreary in urban settings is delightful where there are many trees and other natural objects.
Hattie -- The key to natural beauty is found in areas that have trees, plants, birds, and other natural life. Difficult to find in urban areas but some areas find a way to braid nature into their city. Maintaining this braid is becoming more difficult around the world. Glad you liked my photos. thanks -- barbara
DeleteNeat pics. Foggy always equals eerie for me...:)
ReplyDeleteTroutbirder -- You watched too many scary movies when you were young :) -- thanks barbara
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