The exfoliating bark of this favorite Sycamore tree caught my eye along the way in search of silver…
Jennifer issued her challenge for photos of silver a week ago tomorrow; yet I still hadn’t found any “silver” photos to craft a post.
It has been a topsy-turvy week; lots of travel, lots of drama.
And very little time for the pleasant photo hunting we usually enjoy…
Begonia, “Sophie”
I was about to make do with the slim response of a shot of Begonia, “Sophie” with her silver marked leaves, but this morning was one where there was no time to post even this single photo.
Another crop of this B. “Sophie” photo.
And so after lunch, my partner suggested we take a bit of time to relax and head out on a drive.
Finally, an opportunity to search for “Silver.”
Granite shoring up the river’s edge. Do you see the spider’s web?
Have you noticed that once you set your mind to search for something, it nearly always turns up?
We had just pulled over on the causeway between Sandy Bay and the James River when the beautiful Sycamore tree, Platanus occidentalis, caught me eye.
Yes! Silver bark!
Not particularly metallic, perhaps, but a beautiful rich and shiny grey at the least.
I snapped a few photos, and as I worked around the tree, the glinting silver rocks shoring up the bank of the river caught my eye.
These huge chunks of granite certainly looked silvery in the early afternoon sun.
Perhaps it is another of my oddities, but I find stone astoundingly beautiful.
I enjoy the color, texture, form, and antiquity of rock.
Especially when rock is host to vines or small trees, it always catches my attention.
Cypress trees growing in Sandy Bay, beside Jamestown Island.
And then, looking across the water, the sculptural forms of ancient and wind polished Cypress trees shone in the sun.
Silvery? What do you think? Close enough?
Not yet stumps, these trees were green cloaked a season or so ago.
I’ve never figured out what makes these beautiful and long-lived trees die so suddenly, standing among those still living.
A mystery, but a beautiful one.
Bath time?
So much life and living in the world today!
Birds and dragonflies; finally some butterflies; flowers blooming; berries ripening; wind blowing grasses and leaves.
We had plenty of company on the park roads today, too.
This little dragonfly waited patiently on the curb at one of our stops. I wondered why he was still there as we left. Do you see his torn wing? Such a beautiful creature, and as large as a hummingbird.
With a rising tide, the crabs and turtles living in the marshes lurked out of sight.
The Eagles must have sought shelter in the shade, too, because they weren’t to be seen on their nests and favorite perches.
But we know they are just waiting for the cool of evening to fish for their dinner.
We returned refreshed and relaxed.
And with a small cache of photos, now I can finally give you, “Silver.”
Photos by Woodland Gnome 2014
One Word Photo Challenge: Silver
Forest Garden 
Huge Sycamore tree and beautiful. We don’t have many Sycamore trees around here but when you find one they are huge. 🙂
😉
Lovely images – I, too, am a fan of rock and stone. What stories they could tell, yes? Are you familiar with glacial erratics? We have lots of them here in New England and they always intrigue me.
Good morning, Eliza! No, I’m not familiar with glacial erratics. Can you enlighten me?
They are small to huge chunks of stone that were left behind by the last retreating glacier 10-15,000 years ago. They are scattered randomly all across New England. Small stones were removed by settlers and made into stonewalls. See my photo http://wp.me/s3O3z4-boundary Others too large to move were left. I love to come upon mossy behemoths while walking in the forest. They are silent testaments to time. This post has a pic of one of my favorites that I sit on in winter to catch a few rays of sunshine. http://wp.me/p3O3z4-di
What a gift in your landscape! We have chunks of rocks like that in areas of Virginia to our west, but nothing like that here at the coast. They remind me of the standing stones of Europe. If the rock has a high quartz content, as granite does, it has its own amplitude and channels the energy of the Earth. No wonder it amplifies the sun’s energy for that much needed winter charge! Beautiful photos, as always. Thank you for teaching me something interesting today 😉 WG
Ditto! I hadn’t really thought about the quartz running through many of these erratics. Some of the ripples are quite lovely.
Yes- and the occasional bit of mica. the colors are so lovely 😉
The other day we went walking in a nearby reserve and found an oval quartz stone, about 2’x3′, next to the trail, perfect for sitting. Thinking of you, I sat & meditated briefly, soaking in the good earth energy!
I’m touched 😉 Thank you, Eliza. That means so much to me. How wonderful to have large quartz “sitting stones” along the trail. Must be a magical place there where you live and garden, and may the “Good Earth energy” energize and heal you 😉 Best wishes, WG
I love the look of stone as well. Amazing that you found all this silver in nature- I often think of it only in man made structures. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful representations of silver!
Oh, thank you 😉