Friday, July 30, 2010

SPRING LEAVES

Nope, not the leaves of Spring.

This is the last day for a while that our BabyGirl will be staying with us, so we took her to breakfast this beautiful morning. When we returned, Chris glanced up when he was getting her out of her car seat, and saw THIS.

(Please click on pictures to enlarge)

Yep---a SPRING in the Leaves. We cannot think of ANY circumstance which would have put a little spring up above our heads---the leaves could never have touched the ground, even in the highest winds, and unless the little fellow took a mighty SPROIIINNNNG from a piece of equipment Chris was working on in his open-air workshop some time ago, and it somehow stuck into a baby leaf, which grew around or through it---we’re stumped. (To round out the tree symbolism).


And nobody did it for a joke---how in a million years would they think we’d SEE it up there, on the bottom side of the leaf---and besides, the leaf is totally undamaged. The spiral winds round the leaf in one place, with no room for having been put there by human hands.



It’s as great a mystery as THIS---far back on the same limb in the same tree:




Caro went out to go to work several days ago, and scuffed her feet through a great pile of fresh-peeled tree bark---it was green and pliable, as if just skinned off the tree. She looked up, and way over her head, the underside of one curved limb was entirely bare of its bark. And aside from lightning, we cannot fathom the mystery of this one, either.



I’ve seen a lightning-struck tree before, and it’s been exploded by the great heat steaming all the sap and juices, and blasting the limb apart---this time, it’s as if someone stood and painstakingly peeled it from one end to the other. Which would have been an impossible, crazy-making task, for it’s a curve UP AND OVER on the underside, about eight feet up.



We used to have a pet house-rabbit who completely denuded a bathroom of its wallpaper, to a height of about three feet---she’d nib-nib-nibble at the baseboard, get those tiny teeth into a tooth-lock on about an inch-wide piece, and S-L-O-W-L-Y back up, paper peeling gently from the wall all the way, until it gave way and tore off like a long strip of ribbon, curling to the floor.

This looks kinda like that---but a troop of squirrels would have to have DAYS to accomplish this, and it occurred in one night. And I understand SQUIRRELY, but WHY WOULD THEY? And why beneath, and not on top, where the purchase was better?
Well, at least only a stranger would find any mystery in THIS:



10 comments:

  1. A good mystery for sure!

    Happy weekend.

    Hugs,
    Kat

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  2. What sweet lagniappe that little springy leaf was, Rachel, and it's a wonder that Chris even saw it, as tiny as it is.

    As for the bark peeling off the limb ... I have no answers for you.

    Neat post ... and I enjoyed seeing your tea cup tree again!

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  3. How strange! Both incidences are quite puzzling! Well, maybe you should call that tree tha 'mystery tree' from now on.

    Hmmm!

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  4. Hmmm, How you saw that spring is the mystery. Interesting if not spooky.

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  5. 'Tis mysterious, indeed. Chris had BabyGirl in his arms, about to set her down, and saw what he thought was a bug on the leaf. He moved to get a better look so he could show it to her, and then called me to come see.

    I'd been trimming grapevines, and had pulled several tendrils loose from the wire---that was my first image-thought---those wrappy little fingers, but then it registered as a MADE item.

    We live in interesting times.

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  6. Hello Rachel, How strange. I showed this to my daughter and her question is...Are the springs metal? The bark thing is very weird. You must let us know if you figure it out. Smile.

    Thank you so much for your sweet comment about our daughter. She is very pleased with the nice comments. Her shoulder is doing as well as can be expected. Her long recovery visit is so welcome.

    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Love ya, Jeanne

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  7. At first glance I thought it was one of those springy pieces that grapevines get. Amazing!

    And could I get a rabbit like that? I have a LOT of wallpaper that I need to get rid of. The cat doesn't seem to have that particular talent. And the only chore that Otis was good at was Hoovering.

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  8. Happy August, Everyone!!

    I'm just so glad to hear from everyone, and to know that folks are really out there.

    That rabbit was a story all by herself---she was quite a little DIVA, when we didn't even use the word.

    And I was just thinking about little Otie just last night, bless his little sweet heart.

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  9. Fairies. That' s what I think. Maybe they wanted a smooth slide where the bark didn't skin their tiny knees.

    Love as bright as the Alabama noon day sun
    Maggie

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  10. The whole thing's fantastic in the truest sense of the word. And Happy August to you!

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