Nature Photography Poetic Gifts

Yesterday, my son and I sat in rocking chairs overlooking the beautiful grounds of the Salamander Resort in Virginia while waiting for his birthday luncheon on the patio. Nature played its part in making the wait enjoyable in such a peaceful setting. Instead of simply sharing the original photograph, I added an artistic touch to the tranquil scene with Prisma, a digital app.

Recently, I received a package from my last summer poem swap mate, Patricia Franz. We share a love of nature, photography, poetry, and digital art. Patricia’s poem swap has elements of the above components. Her note states, "Visual & text imagery to envision "the layered history of forests all around us." There is a quote from Barbara Faurot, The Magic of Duff in the Wildlife Garden. Click on https://jcmgf.org/the-magic-of-duff-in-the-wildlife-garden/ to read more about duff.

Leaves, bud scales, twigs, needles, fruits, and bark fragments all accumulate on the ground to form a layer of debris know as "duff." The duff layers, a few inches above the soil is one of the most vibrant and biodiverse part of the forest or garden...Duff is protection, and, in a way, the layered history of the forest around it.

Patricia shared her image poem on duff followed by a longer poem. Since I have never heard about duff, the content was interesting to me from an environmental point of view. 

Patricia also sent me a nature-inspired greeting card with an inspirational quote.

Imagine my surprise when I found the following quote written by Shakespeare: "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." 

Another poet friend, Marcie Atkins, is a nature photographer finding earth's beauty and shares it through her haiku project. Marcie sent me some of her haiku postcards during the same time period I received Patricia's swap. 

Marcie's card below provides me some wisdom to end my long day.

I pause and listen to the night sounds even though I cannot see into the dark woods across the street. When I lean into nature, I feel its nurturing ways. 

night sounds

squeak, call, hoot,

penetrate the woods

darkness hovers

I listen in peace

With pleasure, I share the nature photography poetic gifts sent to me and remind you to pause as I just did. 

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

I am looking forward to adding my post to the Poetry Friday Roundup so I will move over to my poet friend, Linda Baie, who is hosting this week. Her poem about students moving into a new threshold is accompanied by a delightful sketch.

Nature photo by Linda Baie, 2022