Perseverance

I am privileged to have been able to travel with Tammy to some interesting places and I am still able to revisit some of those places with the pictures we took while we were there.  Some of the photos that mean the most to me rotate as the background image on my computer.  There are sunset pictures, flower pictures and other neat images of the farm as well as photos of waterfalls, waves and...  trees.

Tree at Holman Vista in Oregon

This image was the first one selected by my computer this morning.  I don't know if it is a particularly good photograph based on artistic criteria, but I like it.  Perhaps that is partly because I can feel myself being transported back to the moment I hit the button to preserve the image I was seeing.  The temperature was 47 degrees Fahrenheit. Tammy and I now refer to that temperature as "Oregon" since that was roughly what it was during most of our outdoor exploits while we were there.  It was cloudy most of the time with the threat of impending rain (unless it was actively raining).  In other words, just about what it has been like this morning (and many recent days) on the farm.

The only thing missing this morning was the strong wind that we experienced while we were at Holman Vista.  The wind there was normal, given the fact that many of the older trees had shapes similar to this one.  The consistent, prevailing winds discouraged tree growth that went into the wind and it was obvious that this tree had lost many branches over time.  Yet, this tree continued to live (and grow) in a difficult situation.  Clearly, this is not the shape it would have had if its life were less difficult.  And, if this tree hadn't been shaped the way it was, I doubt I would have decided to take this particular photograph.  The continued success of this tree, despite difficult conditions, is attractive, yet somehow bittersweet.  I view this photo and find that it is reassuring and disconcerting at the same time.  This tree encourages me and discourages me.  It teaches me the values of perseverance in the face of adversity.