Beauty in the Marsh

I love to walk in the Apalachin Marsh near my home. The trail itself is nothing out of the ordinary, but the trees are very special to me. They are huge and old, stately and awe-inspiring. I feel a deep connection to them, as they seem almost sentient, and nurturing. As I walk I often touch them as a way of communing and thanking them for their life-giving qualities. Sadly, this year many of the older, larger trees have been uprooted. I don’t know whether the large number of downed trees is a result of climate change or just too much wind and water. Death is natural and these old trees are still beautiful, but the large number of downed trees does make the area feel a little wounded. So I made a Rad Joy bird along the upturned root of one of the trees and stayed with it for a bit. As I was walking out I saw a younger tree that was still standing, but looked wounded and in need of a gift of beauty – it had split into two trunks, one of which was healthy, but the other looked as though insects had eaten it from the inside out. So I left a very simple bird for that tree as well.