Kahlil Gabran’s likening of trees to poems 'that the earth writes upon the sky' is often quoted, I know. And yes, the branches of trees, their twigs and leaves, do seem a little like writing against the sky. But there is more to this poem.
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A bonus I didn’t expect when joining a local photography group was that one of the members would own a patch of woodland. A wood that at the moment is full not of picnicking bears but of bluebells and other early spring flowers.
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In his poem 'To Autumn' John Keats describes the autumn we all know and love, with lingering warm weather and bountiful harvests. But he also celebrates later autumn days, when winter seems just over the horizon. Both have their beauty.
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In the early nineteenth century the Reverend John Beresford, Baron Decies, decided to turn a swampy area of ground on his estate into an attractive landscape with a lake and woodlands. Many landowners were carrying out similar improvements but perhaps more unusually the Reverend was acting out of philanthropy.
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Despite its name, the New Forest isn’t a densely forested area. Yes, there are plenty of trees but also wide open spaces of heathland. The name is historic, dating back to the Domesday Book of 1086. Back then it was the Nova Foresta, declared a royal hunting forest by William the Conqueror.
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Whatever their mood, and whatever the time of year, it’s hard not to be moved when among trees. And recently it seems we humans have started to realise this more and more. Forest bathing and tree hugging have both been shown to have benefits for our mental health, reducing stress and helping us to unwind.
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Cocora was a princess, daughter of Acaime, chief of the local Quimbaya indigenous people. Today she lends her name to Colombia’s Cocora Valley, where the native wax palms (the national tree) grow up to 60 metres and live for about 200 years.
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Some years ago on my birthday we were in Ranthambore National Park, in Rajasthan, and I hoped to see a tiger; we found one! Now here we were in Nepal and I was hoping for a birthday rhino; we found five! But I am getting ahead of myself...
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Green is the colour of nature, the colour of spring and summer. It is restful on the eye and calming to the soul. I think it must have inspired more poets and authors than any other colour. And there are almost as many shades of green in our world as there are writers to describe them. Or indeed photographers to try to capture and preserve their beauty!
