The Wounded Wood

     Strolling along this cemented path around the apartment buildings, in the afternoon, observing the Rowans at a distance, I've began to grow attached to them, especially this one scrawny tree.  This little Rowan is planted on a grassy slope, near the bus stop.  Judging by its features, it seems to be young and in development. Viewing the Rowan at a distance, which is about the width of a street away, I could see its stick-like trunk.  It looks like it could snap like a twig at any breaking moment, but lucky it's supported by two wooden poles, like two crutches helping a human with a broken leg.  Looking at the leaves, they are not as abundant than those on a full grown Rowan, whose branches are brimmed with the green razors.  The  berries produced on the branches are in minimal amounts only appearing mostly on top of the tree.  
     
     I decided to take a closer look at the Rowan, and the first thing I saw are huge gashes on the trunk.  Then as I moved up, a small skinny branch grew on the side of the trunk, trying to prosper and grow, near the split between two branches.  Between the split of the branches, are spider webs attached on the tree and sometimes free flowing in the air.  I continued looking up, and within the bushy greens are some hidden berries, on the left side of the branch.  These berries are still in its early form, dyed in a lime green, camouflaging themselves in the leaves. 

      As fascinated I am on this tree, I am more fixated on the gaping wounds it earned.  I was shocked by how much it has endured in its life.  It's like as if the Rowan got itself into a lashing or two, or maybe in a war.  Amazed by the gashes made on the tree, I chose to sketch it.  On the process of drawing the battle wounds, I noticed a few bits of wooden fibers that sprung out.  In fact, I researched a few things about the Rowans, telling me that the trees are known to have fiberous wood, and the species I am observing are called a Sorbus americana.  Sketching out the wound,  small gnat-like flies began to swarm in front of my face.  To my annoyance, I tried to back up a little, but unfortunately the teeming flies get closer with each step.  In an effort to get them away, I blew at them, with each blow becoming stronger everytime the swarm decides to return back.  These little stubborn bugs don't want to move, as if they are guards protecting the tree.  Irritated, I took my notebook and paper, and swatted at them not caring if someone sees my unusaul actions.  After this little mishap, I'm glad that the sketch is finished, but still felt bad about the lacerations it received, making the Rowan look hopeless.

 

                                            The sketch of the gash on the wounded tree.
 
     However, the single growing branch and the apple green berries are like the trees symbol of healing.  The young branch had a green color, coursing up through the stem-like stick.  Its leaves, which consists up to around eight to twelve leaves per stem, are just like those grown on the top of the Rowans, except they are more razor-like and have a bright hue of green.  The hidden berries each day would turn into a new color from a vibrant green to a welcoming orange.  These two represents that the tree didn't give up on life yet, because of a wound that could be healed within a few months or years.  It puts a smile upon my face that this scrawny looking tree is still growing to become like most of its Rowan brethren, fighting back the pain it suffered. 

                                                      A quick sketch of the little branch.

      Looking at this Rowan, it reminds me of myself in the past.  I was a young and weak girl, but a strong fighter, like that of this tree.  I've been wounded and dealt with bullying in life, similar to how much the tree endured the wounds and natures gruesome weather. Now I'm free from this oppression, continuing on life and trying to heal my broken emotions.  I sometimes remember these memories, but when I see that wounded wood, it tells me to look on how much I have grown.  I've learned that in the first stages of life that one will face many mistakes and will struggle in obstacles.  It came to me that life is not just a blessing, but also a curse.
     

One Captive Week

     Fall break had just came around, and now it's almost over.  Throughout this relaxing week, I've been able to scrawl in some more notes about the Rowans.  Sadly, I didn't take them outside, but inside cooped up in my home, looking out the window as my alternative.  This is due to the fact, that my parents have to go somewhere most often, leaving me to take care of my sister, who isn't much of a outside person.  It might not be a vast set of observations, but ever since I started this project I haven't really made much of a close observation of these trees, near my home.  Now here is my chance, opening up the blinds, scanning around the limited space, observing them between three to five in the afternoon, with my notebook in hand.

    Looking through the window, taking in the view, I caught sight of two Rowans, with orange berries.  One is far back, across the street, next to another apartment building.  The other is too up-close in my view, that only half of the Rowan is shown.  Unfortunately with the lack of binoculars, I'm limited with a full view of the tree, with its details too small to look.

     For the past few days of observing the far Rowan, I noted that the autumn wind would occasionally sway the tip of the leafy tree.  In the afternoon when the sun is raised, illuminating the blue painted sky, the tree is coated by the light on the the left, leaving the right wrapped in the shade.  The patches of light gave the tree's leaves a positive green color of a stop light.  In the shade, the leaves are stained by a mysterious forest green, like those of a Pine tree. By the time the sun is hidden, everything is deprived of the yellow light, the tree is shrouded in the shade, with the berries giving a red crimson hue in my perspective.  

      On the days when the sun shining down, the tree close to me is basked in the warm rays.  The Rowan's leaves are brighten up by the pleasant sunlight, making them glow a neon lime color, until it darkens down into a forest green.  The branches shone white at the tip, then dims back into its cocoa brown color.  Its berries gleamed in the light, just enough to see the fruit inside.  As the days pass by, the leaves ruffled by the hands of the wind, with each blow becoming intense.  Seams of spider webs, linked on the branches, shined white and then disappear.  In the afternoon breeze, a single string of the web danced and whipped in the air.  A lively group of insects roamed, ranging from gnats to bees, glowing a bright brown, exposing themselves in the spotlight of the sun.  Then on the day I observed late in the afternoon, where the sun is hidden behind the horizon, it was quite.  Silence pervaded throughout the apartment complex, with the trees as stiff as a board, and the bright blue skies airbrushed with a misty white.
     Throughout this one captive week of observations, it was quite relaxing to see the life that roams around these Rowans.  It is indeed only a limited view, but I enjoyed the sight.  The warm afternoon radiance of the sun gives the setting a alluring and relaxing mood, making wanting to have a cup of tea with it.  Next time; however, I will be exploring outside more often than shut myself inside.

Just the Beginning

     Within the past couple weeks, I've been observing the Rowan trees, or the Mountain ash, growing next to the path of sidewalks, located around my apartment complex.  This is my subject for my two month Nature Project, assigned to my English class, which requires a relatively close observation on a living thing or surrounding.  I chose the Rowan as my main subject, because I haven't really looked attentively at the berry growing, green bushy leafed, half painted trees.  In order for me to observe a considerable number of trees for about five days a week, I would have to take the regular sidewalk path in the afternoon, that I use to pick up the mail and my sister.  It consists of me leaving home, walking to the mailboxes ,then to the bus stop, and finally another similar path to go back home, which allows me to eye a vast amount of Rowans a day.  During my walks, I would bring my trusty notebook in hand for notes, and some white plain paper for sketches.

     Strolling along the grey cemented path, searching for something interesting around the Rowans, I've seemed to stumble across a sighting or two of American Robins.  These robins are notable for their scarlet red feathered breast, with a dark charcoal feathery base, but if the pleasing afternoon sunlight hits them, the feathers have a warm grayish-brown sheen.  It has a yellow medium sized beak, with black beady eyes of a stuffed animal, and fragile stick-like legs.  They appear frequently in the first and other Rowans, near the mailboxes, perching themselves on the thin brown branches, next to a bundle of plump orange berries.  These Robins, below the Rowan, would occasionally get startled by my presence and end up spreading its wings, beating them quickly to fly up the tree, brimmed with green razor-like leaves, and bright orange ripe berries.  Walking close to them, they would move up or fly away.  Other times; however, they would stay, jump, and turn looking around their surroundings.  Mostly these Robins would like to indulge themselves on the feast of berries, whose colors can range from red or orange.  In my observations they seemed to favor more of the orange fruit, pecking at it, grabbing it in its beak, and then gobbling down the round orb or swallowing it like a pill.

     A few days past, and I noticed that the berries started falling off their stems due to the seasons changing to autumn.  The berries on the sidewalk are mostly crushed by human feet, leaving many crisp flakes behind, while a few are still intact.  The intact ones to my  surprise would have tiny black gnats that seemed to have taken interest with the fruit bearing tree.  They look more like little black dots, hovering around the berries.  Sometimes they would travel up the white trunk, to the brown portion of the tree, then to the stems of berries.  They would then sit still on to the fruit, crawling around the spheres.

     The Nature Project seemed to have gone very well for the past couple weeks.  I really enjoyed the observations, because it does awaken my eyes to realize how stunning the world is.  It gives me a peace of mind, to shun myself of my brooding memories, and it's a pleasant way to observe the gift of miracles that's given right front of me.  I will gladly look forward to doing this project, seeing now that the tree is getting even more interesting as it changes through the seasons.