Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Vegetation and Poetry













While in California, I read a number of poems by Dr. Ed Madden, an English professor at the University of South Carolina and an accomplished, well published poet. We are collaborating on an artistic platter for the Dining With Friends Dessert Party fund raiser: his poetry and my artwork. It occurred to me that I could never be a poet simply because I know next to nothing about botany. I frame antique botanical prints all the time. I've even learned a few of the names but, by and large, one is just a "blue flower" and the other is simply "yellow", etc. Yet, lack of scientific knowledge couldn't prevent me from marveling at the array of vegetation in California. I took dozens of shots while walking on trails near the caves and caverns in Calaveras County. These were, in one sense, just ordinary places....at least when compared to Yosemite National Park. With each step, I saw wondrous growth, rain drops dripping from leaves, colorful berries, delicate blossoms, lush moss, crusty lichen, palettes of colorful plant life. Here are just a few of the images. By the way, Ed's poems are great. We will be making a decision sometime this coming week as to which of his works to use.

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