The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars,
the trail of the sun,
the strength of fire,
and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me.
And my heart soars.
~ Chief Dan George

Triggered by spring showers, every year, a Big Bang event occurs right outside my window. It just happened, and here's the view outside my window. 

For the last 17 years, I look forward to this explosion, as few plants can surpass the majestic, yet delicate beauty of a flowering tabebuia tree. Just now, sitting at my desk, sipping my morning coffee and leaning back in my chair, I find myself completely taken in by the view. 

What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants the friend of sun and sky;
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard -
The treble of heaven's harmony
These things he plants who plants a tree.
~ Henry Cuyler Bunner,
The Heart of the Tree

I delight in the bursts of these lovely tubular blooms borne on three leafless trees, planted by my husband, DH, soon after we moved here.

(Thank you, DH.  These trees are among the best of your loving gifts to me.  And you thought you were just landscaping the sideyard.)

I've attempted to capture this beauty on this page, but as I look out then back at the screen, I realize that no camera, no photo can ever capture Nature's beauty as well as our eyes can.  

Here's what is missing in the photo: the dancing of the graceful, blossom-laden branches in the wind; the intensely animated play of shadow and light; and spectacularly brilliant shades of lavender, pink and fuschia juxtaposed against the deep blue sky and fluffy white clouds, which only heightens the display. The hues are far more vivid and intense to the eye than to the camera.

Also, the camera with no help from my unsteady finger -- cannot capture the hummingbirds that are attracted to the nectar-rich blossoms.  If I can't get the hummingbirds, let me try to see if I can get a closer shot of these spectacularly showy blossoms...

Not great, but not bad. It will do. When I return to this page when once again summer arrives and the flowers are replaced by shady green foliage, or in winter when the elegant branches are deciduously and starkly bare, I will remember these big bang blossoms with fondness.

Now Talking God
With your feet I walk
With your limbs I walk
I carry forth your body
For me your mind thinks
Your voice speaks for me
Beauty is before me
And beauty is behind me
Above and below me hovers the beautiful
I am surrounded by it
I am immersed in it
In my youth I am aware of it
And in old age I shall walk quietly
The beautiful trail.
~Native American Prayer

~~~

To those who wonder what they are:  they are the blossoms of the stately flowering tree, Tabebuia rosea, also known as the Pink Tecoma or Pink Trumpet Tree.

Tabebuia rosea:  a member of the family Bignoniaceae; grows as a native in Panama; affects the human body as a fungicide, vulnerary; has been used by indigenous people to treat boils, diarrhea, dysentery, pharyngitis, wounds. ~Source

Let my soul, a shining tree,
Silver branches lift towards thee,
Where on a hallowed winter's night
The clear-eyed angels may alight.
~ Siegfried Sassoon, Tree and Sky

>> A Gorgeous Tree Poetry Gallery by Matt Wolf

 

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