Guest Post: Four seasons

By Patrick Follez

Patrick Follez, who lives in Antwerpen, Belgium, shot the images (above) of this ornamental apple tree (malus) over 12 months covering the four seasons.I will share his musings on autumn with readers of Life's Too Short. Enjoy!

Autumn is here and the tree on the street before the house is showing its yellow and autumn colours. The tree is a malus or ornamental apple tree and it is used to line the streets.

Autumn is a reflective period as nature slowly retreats to its dormant state out of human view. The malus tree does it with a burst of colours and red berries inviting the blackbirds for a last feast before the meagre times of winter.

I have been watching this tree for nine years from the day I found that I could turn my webcam outside (modified with a 200mm old zoom lens) and brought the tree live as animated wallpaper on my computer. Over the years 12,000 images were stored in a backup copy that came to light when I was cleaning up the hard drive.

It is a treasure trove of images of the slowly changing tree (and its inhabitants) from winter to spring, summer and autumn. The strange erratic shifting patterns of longer or shorter winters and snow in spring are revealed. That every generation of blackbirds are greedy berry eaters has become a fact!

There are two yearly events that stand out. Firstly, the spring opening of the buds and the first light pastel green leaves unfolding. And secondly, the autumn ripening of the berries and invasion of the birds.

I can still remember when the street was renovated some 25 years ago and they planted a small twig with a few leaves kept upright with a two metre high stick dwarfing the seedling. Now the tree is very big and a small world in itself going through the seasons and making my day when I look at it in the morning. This is one of the advantages of getting old: the privilege of looking back and marvelling at the changes.

Comments

A spot of rural tranquillity in Ipoh

Your nerves are frayed and you need a dose of pleasingly rustic ambience without having to leave the city. There is such a spot for you, if you are in Ipoh. All you need to do is head for a block of flats called Kinta Heights in Pekan Lama, Ipoh, Perak, which is next to the Kinta River, one of the main branches of the Perak River. Unbelievable, as it may seem, there are several nasi kandar outlets and sundry shops in the vicinity, set in the greenery, with a view and a walking path. I suggest that you have lunch at Ramli Nasi Kandar and after that, take a very short walk to the river bank for your rural retreat. You might be motivated to spend 10 minutes or more in total silence and tranquillity. This is the place I go to again and again. Ramli Nasi Kandar is next to the sundry shop A short bridge to the river bank You will feel irritated by people putting litter on the ground but I refuse to allow that to distract me. There is a 'Do not litter' notice her

Rediscovering the traditional Malaysian Indian kitchen

I love this artwork (acrylic on canvas) by Jayashree Ramasamy @Jay, who has captured the mood of the traditional Malaysian Indian kitchen. Jay recalls her grandmother preparing meals for the family in a room which was equipped with ancestral cooking utensils and that was the inspiration for this painting. For more of Jay's creations head for the National Art Gallery where 'The Story Telling' exhibition is now being held (April 14 to May 15, 2011). 'The Story Telling' is a group exhibition showcasing the creations of four emerging artists including Jay from the Symbols Art Club . The other three artists are Kathiravan Subramaniam, Rohini Indran and Mohana Kumara Velu @ Mona Kv. Each work of art is a story that the artist tells about his or her personal experiences and observations of daily life. The launch this afternoon was in conjunction with the Tamil New Year today. 'Food is Served' by Kathiravan Subramaniam. The rationale: 'We may have diff

In the waiting room

People are always waiting for something. They could be waiting for the train, an opportunity, promises to be fulfilled or the return of a loved one. But "what does waiting mean in our lives and what is life without waiting?" That question was posed by Danny Castillones Sillada in his article "What is Life without Waiting?" (The Metaphysics of Waiting). The passing of the old year demands another round of gloomy introspection and Sillada's article came at the right time, given the value of waiting in our lives. "Waiting," he explains, is "an emotional and mental state, which is preconditioned to anticipate someone or something to arrive at a particular time and place". Sillada tells us that there are two types of waiting: empirical and metaphysical. The empirical form of waiting is "where the certainty of the waited and the occurrence of event are tangibly expected to happen within a particular time and place of the waite

a fleeting stay ...

Search This Blog