Snowbirch

This:

to stop you in your tracks

and 

remind you of:

Birches

by Robert Frost

When I see birches bend to left and right

Across the lines of straighter darker trees,

I like to think some boy's been swinging them.

But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay

As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them

Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning

After a rain. . . 

(partial poem. . .)

Into the Woods

(Click to enlarge and step in . . .)

What is it about the woods

that is so resonant?

Trees: 

you'll find them in most of my books.

Paths and roads and rivers:

also in most of my books.

Always the lure

of 

natural images.

"I'm going for a walk . . .

You come, too . . ." *

Mm?

(*From Robert Frost's "The Pasture")

xx

The Tree

Tree: Southport, NC

Behold the

mammoth

towering

gnarly

lofty

wizened

giantess

a dome

over

your

fragile

head

xx

Story Branches

Started three different stories.

Usually I only work on one at a time.

Wonder what will happen.

xx

Between Books

When you finish writing a book

you might feel as bare as that tree above

and you need to stand there a while

and soak up that white snow

that blue ocean

that blue sky

that crisp air

until you're ready

to come to life

again

xx

Trees

Trees appear in most of my books

from the 'singing tree' 

in Walk Two Moons

to the blackbird trees

in The Great Unexpected

My characters, like me,

climb them

hide in them

hug them

kiss them

swing from them

leap from them

and

on one occasion

(do you know which book?)

chop one down

(sorry)

I

love

trees

Tall ones

short ones

skinny ones

fat ones

young and old

green and yellow

flowery and plain

Love those trees!

From every writing corner or room

I've ever worked in

at least one tree

has stood outside 

my window.

Last week in Maine

I entered the most beautiful gallery showing:

Joyce Tenneson's

Trees and the Alchemy of Light

Mixed media pieces:

photographs transformed 

with gold leaf

About thirty in all

at the Dowling-Walsh Gallery*

in Rockland, Maine

*Although the show has ended, some pieces remain in the gallery;

you can also learn more about Joyce Tenneson here 

Squirrels in the Crabapple

"She has squirrels in the attic"

someone might say

of me

when I'm deep in a draft

and dizzy in the 'real' world

but outside my window

there are

squirrels in the crabapple

happily munching

on 

blossoms

xx

California Dreamin', part two

More from Davis, California

We are made of many pieces

We are playful

(See me in the overhead mirror?)

Trees bring peace

The wonder of an apricot tree!

The elegance of redwoods!

Such calm in this park

in Davis, California

such tranquility

xx

Texture and Story

I love this gnarly old tree.

What a history it must have.

It reminds me of a really, really old and wise woman.

You don't want to mess with her

but you might learn a lot from her.

On my walks I am drawn to texture

and to contrasts in texture

from the rough and gnarly, nobby, bare tree above

to this:

soft and floaty grass fronds

as delicate as lace.

I appreciate intriguing texture in story

 the accumulation of details and tone

of pacing and pattern

and I appreciate contrasts in texture

that guide me from the gnarly to the soft

skillfully.

I love when I begin reading a book

and sense immediately

that I am in the hands

of a skillful writer.

Have you had that feeling recently?

What book or what writer?

Autumn 100%

It's one of those perfect autumn days here on Lake Chautauqua in western New York.

After two weeks of gray skies and wild winds, sun!

The leaves are just past peak, with more on the ground than on the branches.

Get out the rakes.

Squirrels and chipmunks are busy.

Time to get serious about storing those nuts.

Have to stop for lunch, right?

Love the shagbark hickories . . .

and the geraniums still blooming . . .

And when I come inside

it may not be possible

to write something chilly or harsh

because all the day's bounty

will fill up the room.

If I have a sad or wicked scene to write

it will have to wait

for a gloomier day.

You know?

Golden Grove Unleaving

Yesterday: this golden umbrella overhead.

Today: vile wind and rain, throttling the branches.

Bye, bye, leaves.

Storm and Baby Squirrels

Yesterday morning a fierce storm blew through here, shearing the tops of solid, old trees.  Scary, but no damage to people or structures.

Today, when we were investigating the tree damage, we had this hollow hickory taken down, and -

- we heard squeaking.  Out of a knothole, fell these baby squirrels:

We saved a section of the tree and, using sterile gloves, placed the babies back inside. We could hear the mother scolding from nearby, so we know she's aware.

I was going to write this morning, but . . . I got distracted.

Ba-bloom!

Round nearly every turn here in NC, you come across these enchanted scenes, trees and bushes exploding in blooms, petals sailing through the air and carpeting the ground, pollen infiltrating your eyes and nose and painting every surface.

Because we are here in NC in April and then return to western New York state at the end of the month, we are able to experience two springs--ba-bloom! There is nothing quite like the surge of spring . . . except perhaps for the red and gold trees of autumn or the first quiet snowfalls of winter.

Do you have a favorite season?

Climbing Tree

I love this tree with its smooth, mottled 'skin.' When I was young I would have been up in this tree in a minute--it begs for a child to roost in it. Now it's my grandchildren and my characters who climb trees.

This one is a crape myrtle--or so we've been told. We've never been here when it blooms–we're usually up north then, where the climbing trees are the maples.

And where you are: any climbing trees?  And did you climb when you were young (or old)?

The Grace of Trees

Nearly two years ago, when I took this photo of a sandy lane in North Carolina, I felt such a strong affinity to this place.  It contributed to the impetus for the latest work-in-progress. Where does the road lead? Why do the trees beckon?

I often used similar photos or paintings when I was teaching, as story-inspirers. Who is on the road? Where does it lead? What is that place? I loved how the same scene could inspire such different responses.  The artist or photographer has already selected details and tone. Each viewer then reshapes the scene with his own eyes.

I'm wondering what you see/think/feel.

Of Trees and Water, 22 May, 2009

     Trees and water (rivers, ocean, lakes) abound in my books, so it will come as no surprise that I love and need these natural gifts.  Every office space I've had has included at least one window with view of at least one tree.  For many summers when I was young, my family spent a week or two (the whole of my father's annual vacation) at a small lake in Michigan.  When, just a few years ago, my husband and I were able to choose a house to renovate on a lakeside acre, we placed my office overlooking trees and lake.  

     The view (see above) doesn't distract me; it fuels me and inspires me.  I've often quoted the founder of the TASIS international schools, who said, "Every child needs and deserves beauty," and she particularly meant beauty of the environment.  I believe that profoundly.  We older people need it, too.

     I hope you all have a window and a scenic view.