Pages

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Scots Pine


When I first saw these back at the end of April, I thought 'ooh, baby pine cones'... but I am glad I did not embarrass myself by posting at the time, because they just kept growing....


They are the male flowers of the Scots Pine... they are actually teeny cones though... and parts of the pine trees are covered in them, mainly, but not exclusively the lower parts....


Meanwhile, other shoots have been sprouting to produce these female 'flowers'...


and this time they really are 'baby' pine cones.....


Most, but by no means all of these are higher up.... it is thought that this is to aid cross-pollination- pollen will drift across & up to fertilize other trees, rather than directly up...


the cones take two years to mature, before opening up to drop their seeds....


Yvonne, over at The Organic Writer is hosting this months Festival of The Trees.... she requested artistic submissions if possible. Well, I have no trouble being inspired by trees (if you hadn't noticed) so here is a piece of my calligraphy inspired by pine trees and the words of George Seferis.



I know a pine tree that leans over near a sea. At midday it bestows upon the tired body a shade measured like our life, and in the evening the wind blowing through its needles begins a curious song as though of the souls that made an end of death, just at the moment when they begin to become skin & lips again. One night I stayed awake all night under this tree. At dawn I was brand new as though I had been freshly quarried. 
George Seferis- Greek poet, essayist & diplomat, 1963 Nobel Prize for Literature  winner.


I have written in more detail about this piece of work & my process over at Suzi's Scribbles



9 comments:

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Those photos are beautiful, and I learned something. I hadn't realized I was looking at male and female "flowers" in the past, either. I love every new adventure in nature.

ruma said...

The pine is lovely. . .

Clytie said...

I too love these trees. I watched one 'explode' one day - I was walking by when suddenly all of the little pollen sacs burst and the entire airspace around the tree was bright yellow. Quite a thing to behold!

Your calligraphy is beautiful! I can barely write my name with a pencil - I am in awe of anyone who can do calligraphy!

Lydia Kang said...

Beautiful photographs...I love the process of renewal in nature, and your pictures beautifully document that!

Suzi Smith said...

Trisha... to be honest I only realised this since i've been taking pictures & recording the changes, then looking up info to check what i've seen!

Clytie... bet that was great to see! My handwriting isn't exactly great, but with calligraphy you focus & write much more slowly!

Welcome aboard Lydia!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Thanks for this post. Your work is a nice match for the words of George Seferis. I, too, learned a lot from this.

Barry said...

S - Buds breaking forth, new life, hope, inspiration. B

Dave said...

Wonderful poem and calligraphy. Seferis is a favorite, even if I am confined to reading him in translation.

Pearl Maple said...

Artful combination there, the photos are lovely and a great inspiration for your creation.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...