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Sometimes I am surprised by the metaphors that pop into my head. Typically they are general such as: My husband"s eyes are as blue as the ocean/sky etc... Rather boring actually. But every once in awhile, My eyes clamp down on something and an entirely different image springs to mind. Once that happens, I cannot let it go.
Last summer, we did a crazy thing and took our 4 little kids (4,3,2, and 5 months) on a 3 week road trip to Colorado and a list of other exciting places. We covered 7 National Parks. We camped out. We stayed at a bed and breakfast that allowed no kids. Sage slept in the suitcase. We stayed at an almost dilapidated dude ranch. We saw a fair amount of wildlife, made snowballs, hiked, rode horses, lost stuff, found stuff etc. Perfect family adventure. My greatest discovery, besides a fabulous necklace made of petrified wood and gathered by Native American women in New Mexico, was my sighting of my very first Aspen Trees!
To say they are beautiful is an understatement. When they stand there, so long and thin, they are delicate and yet so strong. I fell in love with them at once. Every time a mountainside was covered in Aspen trees, I would take a deep breath and stare until they were beyond my line of vision. The fast car that we drove and the bundle of kids that we have, kept me in check or else we may have stopped for too long at the lookout points.
My favorite thing about the Aspens are the leaves, although the trunks do resemble slender silver strands that glisten in the cool mountain air. The leaves are somewhat circular and soft green. They are very light weight and each lets the others have its own space. They did not have to fight for a place on the branches. They all turn the same direction and slightly droop. When a great wind comes, they do not fall off the tree, but rather, they dance in unison and sway together very gently. If you listen closely, you can hear the music that the swishing leaves make for the rest of the mountain. There is something seductive about these dainty trees.
And now the word picture that I embraced and cannot forget. As we came upon those trees for the first time, I felt like I had arrived uninvited at some kind of celebration of foliage. Textiles immediately littered my mind. I thought about those evening gowns that are made up of shiny slick circles that are held together with a mesh under layer. When the long and lean lady moves, the circles swish and sway with her. They do not compete with one another, each has been carefully stitched to that under layer and will be seen. So here I am at the forest foliage extravaganza and I am dressed in jeans. So I stayed in the car of course. I did not feel like I had the right to approach the frail but intimidating ladies.
I know it is both strange to feel unworthy next to a tree, and also to compare leaves to evening gowns, but I sew and I am just a regular girl after all. So there it is.
Last summer, we did a crazy thing and took our 4 little kids (4,3,2, and 5 months) on a 3 week road trip to Colorado and a list of other exciting places. We covered 7 National Parks. We camped out. We stayed at a bed and breakfast that allowed no kids. Sage slept in the suitcase. We stayed at an almost dilapidated dude ranch. We saw a fair amount of wildlife, made snowballs, hiked, rode horses, lost stuff, found stuff etc. Perfect family adventure. My greatest discovery, besides a fabulous necklace made of petrified wood and gathered by Native American women in New Mexico, was my sighting of my very first Aspen Trees!
To say they are beautiful is an understatement. When they stand there, so long and thin, they are delicate and yet so strong. I fell in love with them at once. Every time a mountainside was covered in Aspen trees, I would take a deep breath and stare until they were beyond my line of vision. The fast car that we drove and the bundle of kids that we have, kept me in check or else we may have stopped for too long at the lookout points.
My favorite thing about the Aspens are the leaves, although the trunks do resemble slender silver strands that glisten in the cool mountain air. The leaves are somewhat circular and soft green. They are very light weight and each lets the others have its own space. They did not have to fight for a place on the branches. They all turn the same direction and slightly droop. When a great wind comes, they do not fall off the tree, but rather, they dance in unison and sway together very gently. If you listen closely, you can hear the music that the swishing leaves make for the rest of the mountain. There is something seductive about these dainty trees.
And now the word picture that I embraced and cannot forget. As we came upon those trees for the first time, I felt like I had arrived uninvited at some kind of celebration of foliage. Textiles immediately littered my mind. I thought about those evening gowns that are made up of shiny slick circles that are held together with a mesh under layer. When the long and lean lady moves, the circles swish and sway with her. They do not compete with one another, each has been carefully stitched to that under layer and will be seen. So here I am at the forest foliage extravaganza and I am dressed in jeans. So I stayed in the car of course. I did not feel like I had the right to approach the frail but intimidating ladies.
I know it is both strange to feel unworthy next to a tree, and also to compare leaves to evening gowns, but I sew and I am just a regular girl after all. So there it is.
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