In the fall, when the temperatures begin to drop in the northern hemisphere, plants react immediately to the change, and all too soon they lose their flowers and leaves then enter their long metabolic rest over the winter. Some plants and trees are evergreens, but parts of the forest can still look bare.
Now that warmth has returned earlier than usual, there are many signs of life. They’re often imperceptible if one is not paying attention, so it's necessary to look closer and zoom in on the tiny details.
I spotted salmon berry buds beginning to show off their bright rosy petals sprouting from fuzzy green cocoons while clinging to long flexible branches.
Winters up here tend to be long, psychologically speaking, with a lot of our time spent indoors because of the harsh weather and long periods of darkness. We begin to have funny thoughts as winter drags on. We even consult four-legged mammals to predict the end of it. What if summer never comes? What if we remain in this cold and dark world forever? Nothing would grow on the frozen barren soil. Somber thoughts indeed. It's no wonder some of our citizens celebrate the winter solstice. It's not that they're pagan devil worshippers. Quite the opposite. They celebrate the time when light triumphs over darkness then returns with the promises of growth and renewal.
Now the days last longer and darkness retreats, so we step out of our dens to find a world coming back in all its teeming and perfumed glory.
I used different settings in my Olympus camera's microscope mode to capture the close-up shots. I experimented with the focus effects for certain scenes because they can bring attention to specific subjects while providing a vague tantalizing glimpse of what lies beyond.
I heard the sound of gurgling streams flowing, meandering, playfully streaming down and along all the way towards the sea.
Lichen and moss are ever present species in the rainforest.
Capturing the light that filters through the canopy.
From time to time, birds call out unseen in the branches or the undergrowth. For the most part, however, there is an all-pervasive silence.
I encountered a cluster of flowers that seemed out of place in that part of the forest. Did someone plant them there? Maybe birds carried the seeds and had a feast. I haven't ruled out little elves either. Very curious.
Wouldn't it be neat to be a little furry mammal and see the world from that perspective?
Everything would look oversized
and full of wonder.
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