What I Saw In The Woods, Hope In Bear Scat

living tree stump

Like a  stage or the perfect bed to nap in, I came across this living tree stump in the woods.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  The branches and leaves growing in a circle from the place between the wood of the stump and the bark.   The place where water and mineral are transported up and down the tree.  And the soft bed of dry leaves at its center.  Even a passageway, a break in the circle to come and go by.  I wish I were small enough to curl up in it to sleep and dream.

wire a d tree

There are wires throughout the woods.  Old fencing used to keep the grazing animals in when the woods were pasture.   Sometimes  the tree grows right over the wire, pulling it into its trunk  making it invisible.  Other trees get choked by it.

I don’t know the story of this dead tree I saw in the woods.  But I found it beautiful.  A sculpture of mixed materials.  The rough organic form of the tree and the circling, looping line of the wire.  The wire hangs loose on the tree, circling around it’s back and coming again to  the one spot where the tree absorbed it.

bear scat

Bear scat growing seeds.  Wonderous evidence of how the natural world works.  Bear eats the seeds then makes his rounds through the woods, depositing them in a bed of rich poop so they can grow and thrive.  I saw this scat soon after it was first dropped.  To see it blooming weeks later, I felt the hope that comes with new life.

2 thoughts on “What I Saw In The Woods, Hope In Bear Scat

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Full Moon Fiber Art