A very slow start to the rainy season, but in all actuality ,the monsoon like afternoon rains are really a few weeks away. Today, just as the past week has been, thick clouds move in rapidly, you can almost see the thunderheads forming above. As the rains begin to fall, the hardened grounds beckon every drop. This tropical peninsula, a giant sandbar, is now more like hardened and weathered cement.
As we walk the pathways along the golf course, the stately magnolias, live oaks, and Spanish moss laden and hauntingly beautiful cypress trees seem to have risen skyward, as if looking and begging for moisture. Craggy, gnarly root systems, bulging upward through the hardened ground, fan out in every direction, seeking the elusive elixir of life, water. These roots fascinate me, they have seen how cruel Mother Nature can be, depriving them of their life blood, yet these hardened weather worn veins have experienced this before. Their talon like grip on the hardened ground suggests only survival, nothing more, certainly nothing less. A true partnership with the earth, they stand hearty and tall protecting the very ground on which they stand, from the blistering rays of the scorching fireball high in the mid-day sky. Much like the skeletal system on the top of our hands, these weathered roots suggest the guardians of the forest, these majestic trees, have age. They have withstood all that the forces of nature have thrown at them. They are a giant high rise community, home to generation after generation of forest creatures.
Walking further along the picturesque paths, we notice, a few of the smaller trees have given in to the forces surrounding them. With a strong foundation a necessity, these much younger trees have lost their battle in the survival of the fittest. Eerily they lean, almost begging their elders for support, their root system, talons much too short, have surrendered. All too soon, critters of destruction will move in, sucking what meager life remains from the bowels of the foundation. This circle of life, within the tropical rain forest is such a fragile system. I believe it's beauty radiates forth for a reason. The fallen ones stand as a reminder to the hordes of humans that destroy, taking for granted, using and abusing these majestic sentries standing guard over the lands. Sadly, if we do not nourish and replenish, our world will be filled with regrets.
As we walk the pathways along the golf course, the stately magnolias, live oaks, and Spanish moss laden and hauntingly beautiful cypress trees seem to have risen skyward, as if looking and begging for moisture. Craggy, gnarly root systems, bulging upward through the hardened ground, fan out in every direction, seeking the elusive elixir of life, water. These roots fascinate me, they have seen how cruel Mother Nature can be, depriving them of their life blood, yet these hardened weather worn veins have experienced this before. Their talon like grip on the hardened ground suggests only survival, nothing more, certainly nothing less. A true partnership with the earth, they stand hearty and tall protecting the very ground on which they stand, from the blistering rays of the scorching fireball high in the mid-day sky. Much like the skeletal system on the top of our hands, these weathered roots suggest the guardians of the forest, these majestic trees, have age. They have withstood all that the forces of nature have thrown at them. They are a giant high rise community, home to generation after generation of forest creatures.
Walking further along the picturesque paths, we notice, a few of the smaller trees have given in to the forces surrounding them. With a strong foundation a necessity, these much younger trees have lost their battle in the survival of the fittest. Eerily they lean, almost begging their elders for support, their root system, talons much too short, have surrendered. All too soon, critters of destruction will move in, sucking what meager life remains from the bowels of the foundation. This circle of life, within the tropical rain forest is such a fragile system. I believe it's beauty radiates forth for a reason. The fallen ones stand as a reminder to the hordes of humans that destroy, taking for granted, using and abusing these majestic sentries standing guard over the lands. Sadly, if we do not nourish and replenish, our world will be filled with regrets.
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