Beauty with Cherry Tree Blooms: Lens-Artist #245

Hello Readers, The theme for the Lens-Artist Photo Challenge, from Tina, is ENVIRONMENTS.

Earlier this month, I walked by our tree – it is a fruitless, flowering cherry tree –  and as this year’s blooms were just starting to emerge, I saw a bird coming and going.

I decided to see if there were any eggs in the the nest. There was not. BUT WAIT – is that a piece of dental floss in there? Ha – it might just be…. 

My mother-in-law would love to see this image – with the piece of floss in the bird’s nest  – because her mother, Grandma Tereena, found bird nests that had colored strings in them, which were strings she put on the line to see if the birds would use. The birds did use her strings and she later had proof. Also, I mentioned that story in my Avian Friends book – here.

Later that week, as the Cherry Tree blooms were still coming in, I (finally) finished watching a movie called, Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014).  My top takeaways:

1. Hector and the Search for Happiness has a light-hearted feel that will leave you smiling. Parts of the story invite us to suspend disbelief – or to just let the fictional aspects settle in so we can enjoy the “what if…” – while the story allows us to think about what really helps us cultivate happiness (joy and appreciation too).
2. The movie had artsy aspects  – where Hector’s drawings were integrated into the action. It was so well done. It reminded me of the artsy parts of The Playlist (here – which is a series about the creation of Spotify) but yet it was also SO different because The Playlist had digital special effects and the Hector movie had sketches with a vintage feel.
3. Two quotes: “The more we search for our own happiness, the more it eludes us.”     “Concern ourselves less with the pursuit of happiness – but with the happiness of pursuit.”
4.  The connection to today’s post: There was a scene where the environment immersed everyone with color and joy  – as the wind made the flags dance and wave.

I wondered what it would be like to be a bird – in a nest – surrounded by all those pink blooms (especially when they fully came in). I wondered if all that floral beauty is enjoyed by birds – or do they just appreciate the foliage (and extra coverage) for security?

This video shows some of the pink explosion environment:

This environmental immersion reminded me of what it would be like to be a bird in the cherry tree.

It reminded me what we humans can still feel – as we experience the beauty of a floral environment, just in different ways. 

You might have noticed that the bark of the Cherry Tree is covered with lichens and other things that can take over a tree. For those that did not hear my story about this fruitless, flowering cherry tree – here is the quick version:

     About 15 years ago, we almost lost the tree to a trunk fungus.  I treated the large patch and it sealed things up. After that, the tree kept growing – but only slightly. And so each year we pondered – “Should we take it out and put in a new, healthier tree? Or do we let it remain – with its slight tilt and slow growth?”     Each year, we’d see the new growth and let her be.

Of course, I have had wellness analogies come and go with this tree. For example, how we humans might be similar – with experiencing an affliction – recovering – and then moving forward with growth that was changed because of the experience – we are never the same – but we have life! And we have healthy growth – even if it might be slow going and with a little tilt.

One reason I have opted to keep this tree is because of the spring beauty it delivers to our immediate ENVIRONMENT.

The pink explosion lasts for about two+ weeks and then leads to that floral snow – as shown in the photo below.

 

As of mid-April, it turns out the birds decided to NOT lay eggs in the Cherry Tree nest – well not yet. And the dental floss is still there – perhaps it was not the best material for a nest? 

Upon closer look, that is not REAL dental floss – it looks like it is that nasty “dental tape” product – what do you think?

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Thanks for joining me today.

I hope you all have a great week.

Also, you might want to check out this week’s Priorhouse Interview – here– featuring author Miriam Hurdle. 

If you want to know more about the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, click here 

REMINDER: The 2023 #Dickenschallenge runs until June 9th… Inviting you to read ONE novella (or more novellas) and then post and/or chat with us in June (info here) (hosts are Trent, Marsha, and Yvette)

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