Across the meadow
a maple tree reaches out a golden arm
it’s hand is crimson, but not the rest
some branches are bare
that crimson hand beckons me
someone else wrote the question
“When the leaves fall with such abandon,
do they not know winter soon follows?"
Reading “May I have This Dance?” by Joyce Rupp, I came across this quote.
I remember sitting on an old porch in Edensburg, Pennsylvania. It was the sixth of October and the hills were radiant with color. The golds and reds of the trees swayed in the strong breeze and I sat there hurrahing the dying leaves. The thought surprised and rather appalled me: How could I love the colors of death? How could I be so callous? How could I eagerly cheer for the forest leaves as they sailed to their death when I so strongly wanted to hold onto life? I was astounded at how easily the trees let go of their treasures. I was dismayed by the stark contrast of this acceptance of death and my own tight grip on life.
Joyce Rupp – October
My brain gets a little confused over chlorophyll and leaf colors. I heard one scientist over simplify saying all the colors are there all year ’round. We just see the chlorophyll as most prominent. At that my brain is going if the green of chlorophyll is mixing with the yellow then shouldn’t the leaves look blue? Arghh! Scientists confusing simple ol’ me.
During the growing season, chlorophyll is continually being produced and broken down and leaves appear green. As night length increases in the autumn, chlorophyll production slows down and then stops and eventually all the chlorophyll is destroyed. The carotenoids and anthocyanin that are present in the leaf are then unmasked and show their colors.
A color palette needs pigments, and there are three types that are involved in autumn color:
Carotenoids: Produces yellow, orange, and brown colors in such things as corn, carrots, and daffodils, as well as rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas.
Anthocyanin: Gives color to such familiar things as cranberries, red apples, concord grapes, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums. They are water soluble and appear in the watery liquid of leaf cells.
Chlorophyll: Gives leaves a basic green color. It is necessary for photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that enables plants to use sunlight to manufacture sugars for food.
Certain colors are characteristic of particular species:
Oaks: red, brown, or russet
Hickories: golden bronze
Aspen and yellow-poplar: golden yellow
Dogwood: purplish red
Beech: light tan
Sourwood and black tupelo: crimson
The color of maples leaves differ species by species:
Red maple: brilliant scarlet
Sugar maple: orange-red
Black maple: glowing yellow
Striped maple: almost colorless
That makes more sense to me, “As chlorophyll production slows down and then stops – the carotenoids and anthocyanin that are present in the leaf are then UNMASKED and show their colors.”
So in my poem I am uncertain if a red maple seen from this distance is holding the ‘hand’ of a sugar maple? Regardless the leaves are not entirely fallen, but most have. I am truly aware of winter when the leaves of the invasive honeysuckle shrubs fall. Then we are in for the worst winter can send our way. The last couple winters have been very mild. Wonder what climate change will send our way this winter?
If the folklore abut the woolly bear caterpillars is to be believed this will be a harsh winter. Time will tell!
Jesus had much to say about growing plants. These lessons still apply to us today, though most of us no longer live in an agrarian culture. Read what was written in the book of John.
“I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. 2 He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops. 3 He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you. 4 Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can’t produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.
5 “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned. 7 But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love. 10 When you obey me you are living in my love, just as I obey my Father and live in his love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your cup of joy will overflow!
John 15:1-11 TLB
Vine and branches also applies to shrubs and branches. Once while driving the Natchez Trace we came to rest area/ tourist information center that had these shrubs growing along the sidewalk. I was enchanted, especially since purple is my favorite color! (The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states. It roughly follows the “Old Natchez Trace,” a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, “Kaintucks,” European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. Today, people can enjoy a scenic drive as well as hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping along the Parkway.)
Aren’t those berries lovely?
More recently, while on retreat at the Convent of the Transfiguration Spirituality Center I found the shrubs once again. (Photograph above)
I cut one branch. The shrubs were loaded with berries. I knew in a just a few weeks the frost would make everything less lovely. One branch would not destroy the future of the shrub.
Holding the lovely branch, I pondered the fact that Jesus is the Vine and I am just a branch. The shrubs I encountered were producing a bountiful harvest of berries. I, too, want to stay close to my Savior and produce a crop to His glory. These berries are attached with tiny, rather fragile stems.
Eventually I took the branch into the library of the Center and placed it on paper so it would not mar the furniture. The retreat was just for a day or two.
Before I departed I disposed of the cut branch, a clear reminder to cling to Christ and stay connected.
Curled leaves, withering branch cut off from the shrub.
The memory of that berry rolling down the spine of my book still makes me giggle. Isn’t it amazing how tiny things can bring us joy if we are willing to slow down and look for them? May your day bring you splendid surprises.
Joan Chittister is a well known Benedictine nun and author of a tremendous amount of books. Over many years she has inspired me to grow deeper with Christ. I get a weekly newsletter from her ministry. Here is a quote from a recent newsletter and a link should you want to read the entire article for yourself. Much of what they put in the newsletter is taken from her books.
Because of beauty
Confucius may have said it best: “Everything has beauty,” he taught, “but not everyone sees it.” Seeing it, the spiritual person knows, is the task of a lifetime. It is also the reward of a lifetime well-lived, lived in balance, lived from the inside out as well as from the outside in.
Open your eyes to the beauty around you today. This morning was my turn to walk the dog. It was the coldest morning this season. Just meant time to get out my winter coat, and gloves, etc. Had to stop to capture this leaf for you.
After the many days of glorious yellow, red and gold leaves raining down upon us this frosted outline was too lovely to not admire!
Watch for treasures in plain sight. They truly are all around you!
Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.
Jalaluddin Rumi
(I had to look this up to be certain this is the work of Rumi the poet I am familiar with. Indeed, it is the same man. Never before saw the first name attached. Go figure.)
Made a retreat at Convent of the Transfiguration recently. As I left the last service Saturday evening it was almost dark. As I walked from one building to another, movement caught my eye. From behind the ‘chapel’ and over its roof a flock of birds flew. And then there were more and more of them. I stood in awe for several minutes. When I got back to my room I wrote,
"And billowing over the roof of the church
Comes tens, no twenties,
No, countless birds
Occasional chirp or call
But mostly just flying in formation
Over the roof into the sky with a swirl
Seemingly hundreds in the dusk murmuration." Molly L Dutina
This wonder which I have seen in other autumn skies was never this up-close or so personally touching before. Had I exited the convent earlier or a few moments later I would have missed it entirely.
Rumi wrote, “Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.” Truly this was holy artistry from the hand of the LORD on high.
These formations are not limited to the USA. Watch the evening sky and I pray you get to see one for yourself!
Here is a short film of a massive murmuration
If you watch to the end, you can sigh and say, “And then they are gone!”
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
Wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
Psalm 148:1, 10 NIV
Yes, LORD, with all of creation we praise You. Thank you for this blessing. You know I do not appreciate starlings when they empty our feeders in a matter of minutes, yet they do fill Your sky with wonder when they form their murmurations. Thank you for letting me see this one up close and share it with my reader friends. You are the King of all glory. Amen.
When we lived on Siesta Drive we had a pawpaw tree in the back yard. I never once saw fruit on it, but the unfolding leaves were dramatic!! Sadly I did not get a photo.
And yes, there are two acceptable spellings.
We were walking recently at the Cincinnati Nature Center. We took a trail we do not usually take. As we were wandering along I remembered there had recently been a guided walk showing participants native fruits. As we walked amidst the pawpaw trees, sadly I thought,”Huh, I have never ever seen a Pawpaw fruit in the wild.”
As Bob took various photos and the dog moseyed along sniffing the myriad scents along the trail, I noticed a rounded rock. “Hmm,” I thought,”the gravel here is rough not rounded.” I nudged it a bit with my toe, then I bent to pick it up. NOT a rock!! A pawpaw! And they really do smell like fresh bananas!
Bob captured this photo for me and for your enjoyment!
It really smelled delicious! I have had a queasy stomach so I could not bring myself to taste it, though I really wanted to! As the dog and I strolled along I carried it with us. Trying to take a photo of something else, I accidentally closed my hand over it. It had burst the skin. Yep! it was sticky. I put it on a log hoping someone else would delight to discover it. Of course, all of this lead me to look up its details when I got home!
The pawpaw plant can grow up to 12 metres (40 feet) tall and has pointed, broadly oblong, drooping leaves up to 30 cm (12 inches) long. The malodorous, purple, 5-cm (2-inch) flowers appear in spring before the leaves. The edible fruits are 8 to 18 cm (3 to 7 inches) long and resemble stubby bananas; the skin turns black as the fruit ripens. Depending on the variety, pawpaw fruits vary in size, time of ripening, and flavour.
Brittanica
The pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat, with large, simple leaves. Pawpaw fruits are the largest edible fruit indigenous to the United States. Pawpaw fruits have a sweet, custard-like flavor somewhat similar to banana, mango, and pineapple, and are commonly eaten raw, but are also used to make ice cream and baked desserts. The bark, leaves, and fruit contain the insecticidal neurotoxin, annonacin. Native Americans used the fiber of the pawpaw tree to weave ropes and nets.
Because of the lack of human propagation and the abandonment of much farmland in the Southeast during and after the Great Depression, pawpaws became extremely rare by the late 20th century, but are making a comeback. In fact, the State of Kentucky has established an experimental farm and agricultural labs in order to develop commercial varieties for international marketing. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Catawba Nation of South Carolina and North Carolina have initiated major pawpaw cultivation and experimentation programs in order to encourage Native Americans to grow the delicious fruit.
Could it be that in my lifetime Pawpaw fruit might hit my local market? Well, after getting a whiff of the fragrance I would encourage you to purchase and taste some if you come to it in the market!
Largest edible fruit indigenous to the United States! Wow!
photo from Apalacheresearch website
Keep your eyes open for those treasures in plain sight!! Never now what you might find!!
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
I captured this cicada that spent the morning on our driveway in the rain. I thought maybe it was dead, but not totally as the legs moved a little. I went to get a clear cup and a piece of paper. Went back outside and scooped it up.
Did not realize until I took these photos that the government rearranged George Washington on the newer quarters and gave him a new hairdo! This is about fifty cents worth of 2023 cicada. Not the periodic cicada that I posted about a year or so ago.
I have often wondered with the abundance of insects that cycle through the seasons where do all those wings go? I rarely see just a wing outdoors!
Can you imagine being a small bird and coming up those white dots that look like eyes?
Or these actual bug-out eyes?
Well this cicada for one is battered and shell might be dented? It was fun to day dream with you about this noisiest of bugs!
Later, I took the cicada outdoors again. I was going to slide it off the paper onto the top of the power box so Lucky would not try to eat it since it seemed to be dying. Much to my surprise, with a noisy flurry of cicada wings (even though battered) it took off into the sky! Guess it came to visit for notoriety on this blog!! Hope I did not traumatize it too much.
Where do you draw nourishment for your soul? I asked Bob to take the photo above because it stirred something in me. You can see not only how the leaves are attached to the branch, but how the leaves have a nourishment system.
Walking to our garbage can storage area we have been watching the elephant ears develop and then open.
M L Dutina
Again the nourishment avenues within each leaf.
M L Dutina
Can you trace the nourishment in your soul from the river of living water flowing inside of you?
I love the photo above. If you look at the top center of the leaf you can see the rough corner of decorative stone on the house. I can only suppose that a wind storm caused the creases on the left side of the photo. Such contrast between rock and leaf.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5 VIV
How is your connection to the LORD? Are you remaining in Him and giving way for Him to remain in you? Then the admonition, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” Nothing that lasts, nothing of eternal significance and meaning can be done separate from Him.
As you pass growing leaves or perhaps fallen colored leaves, take a moment to pause and look at the vein system. Is your path of nourishment as clearly defined? How might you deepen and improve that nourishment path?
Steve Green recorded this years ago, 2017. When I heard it for the first time it stopped me in my tracks! Two minutes of challenge. Hoping you will listen!
I am praying that you listen to what the Lord is saying to you personally. I pray you make whatever changes He wishes for you to have better nourishment for your soul and spirit. Will you?
I have been reading You are Here by David Steindl-Rast. In Chapter 6 called The It he quotes Martin Buber, St. Augustine and Robert Frost to name a few.
What I ultimately encounter in any You, I can also encounter in any tree: Mystery. This happens, as Buber says, “through decision and grace.” Both are necessary. I must decide to open my heart wide for this experience and receive it as a gift. “All is grace,” said St. Augustine, all is Life’s gift. And Life is the story of our adventurous encounters with that “Secret,” of which, so far, we only know from Robert Frost that is “sits in the middle and knows, while “we dance in a ring and suppose.” Draw out the line of relationship into infinity and it will lead to that “Secret” – the Mystery, which we encounter in and through all that exists.
-Brother David Steindl-Rast
He ends the chapter with this comment.“What we need to relearn is to ‘kneel and admire’ in reverence and amazement.”
My body SO protests kneeling in the sense of next to my bed for prayer or at the altar for communion, but the Prayer of Manasseh in the Apocrypha helps me with the line in verse eleven: “And now I bend the knee of my heart, imploring you for your kindness.” The Prayer of Manasseh is a part of the Apocrypha, accepted by some as biblical though not necessarily accepted by all persons as biblical. I personally love this prayer.
So I bend the knee of my heart in admiration, reverence and amazement towards the creation of the Father. This is one of the chapters I was reading while sitting on the porch recently when observations and poems seemed to pour forth out of me.
Imagine if we would approach each person as mystery. We are so prone to make judgements and stereotype people this could bring a radical change in our every encounter! Instead of being exhausted by people the introvert might see meeting as an adventure? Instead of thriving off others, the extrovert might see meeting another as an unknown treasure. Just thinking on the page here.
I hope this blog helps move you towards the decision and grace to move towards life with your eyes wide open and your heart seeking Mystery. May you be blessed with abundant life.
Neighbors yard is filled from
First tree to drop her gown
likely Yellow Poplar
We have a few buttons
And ribbons in our lot from other
Ladies preparing to drop their gowns
Cicadas still sing afternoon melody
Sun shines brightly
Some maple branches turning
getting ready to disrobe
Mostly green on our horizon
Autumn waits at the corner
So humor from proof reading blog. Must have thought I had deaf cicadas in our yard because I wrote “Cicadas still sign afternoon melody.” Oh Molly, bad humor.
One cicada was so loud last evening, for a moment Bob thought it might have gotten into the house. Saw a huge one on the sidewalk when I walked Lucky this morning. Not dead, but certainly slowing down. Was this who we heard last evening?
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 