Nature's Highlighter

Forsythia On the Table

Forsythia may be one of nature's most potent highlighters. In the spring it is a saturated yellow. When not pruned, the shrub can spread like the lemon hue highlighting of a reader who deems nearly every sentence of a book important. The way the natural world blooms has a pace. So far, cherry trees have turned pink and then come the apple blossoms. When my father preceded my grandmother in death,  she planted an ornamental cherry tree as a memorial to his life. Each year I look forward to seeing the tree turn pink and watch for its growth.

I am amazed that a weighted plastic headstone placed in front of this cherry tree has survived fifteen years. Usually I find the plastic stone tilted on its side, but I make a point to return it to its proper standing. There seems to be more to highlighting than making marks. In order to retain meaning, there is a need to return to passages and recall important details. Reflection also makes color richer (i.e. both the hue and the vibrance of life). Colors that create an emphasis are more than pretty accents. They are temporary developments that shape spaces and offer anchors in a world that can feel like a complex web of light and shade.

As promised in the last post, included below are a crop of photographs.

Forsythia

Ornamental Cherry Tree

Headstone in front of the cherry tree.

Cherry Blossoms