*
Rain sped the inevitable breakdown of
leaf, stem and
seed
this week.
A walk in a wet forest near
a rushing stream today
revealed
ruins.
What was once upright, now sags,
reaching to earth. What
was once entire is now
ragged,
ready
to be broken up:
food for fungi,
the soil gods
no
one worships.
*
*
*
It can be a difficult beauty,
this rot,
refusing to satisfy
any desire
for perfection. And
what
is perfection,
but
this?
*
*
*
*
Photos taken 11/2/14 at Youngs Creek Falls, near Monroe, Washington with a Lumix G3 and Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4 lens, processed with Lightroom and OnOne.
bluebrightly 
Wonderful Lynn – you captured the beautiful decay both visually and with words. The different toning works very well – I like the third from the bottom (fireweed?) in particular.
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Thanks Ken – it’s not Fireweed and I didn’t linger long enough, or pay close enough attention to check out what it was. I liked that one a lot, too so I’m glad to hear your comment.
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A beautiful post Lynn, these black and whites are gorgeous!
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Cool! Happy you think so – I’ll be “at your place” soon!
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“and what is perfection but this”
Beautifully said, sitting harmoniously alongside your photos.
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I was worried that was a little precious – in Buddhist circles it’s called the stink of zen – but I guess it was OK! Thank you very much.
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Never heard that term, however in my world your words were spot on, I read them as there is no right and wrong, no set rules for what is perfect, everything is already an expression of perfection in its splendid what we might perceive as ‘imperfection’ 🙂
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We all seem to be hunting out and finding the seasonal changes Lynn … I could happily have walked alongside you for this . Lovely melancholy monochrome images .
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Can’t wait to see what you’re up to – have had NO TIME during the week, which leaves just enough time to get out and take pictures and post on the weekend, so I am behind! But I’ll be there…
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“sped,” — trans. verb, from Old English “spowan” — to prosper or succeed. This alternate meaning tickles me. Water is life, growth, and decay. Decay gives new life. The absence of water clarifies this mightily in our minds. Water and fungi, soil gods, are mightily worshipped here, in California, on this day.
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Great to hear from you, Linda! Who knew? Well, you did, and thanks for that. I love those old Eng. words. Brings out the Celt in me. I BET you worship them!
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Lovely images and words that capture the feeling of autumn turning to winter, Blue.
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The slow decline I can relate to! 🙂
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me, too:)
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these are really beautiful! i love the first one with its almost (but not quite) mirrorlike symmetry.
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Not quite! That’s what I love – thanks –
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These images are beautiful and a little melancholy at the same time; and your words are lovely. I like seeing the fading of one season as it slowly evolves into the next. 🙂
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It is a slow evolution, isn’t it? I know you’re watching too!
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I love these images! What drew me to them was that they’re monochrome. I’m not accustomed to seeing photos of nature in monochrome, but when I do, I find them to be striking. I especially like the second one because of the light.
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One thing that brought that light out on the dried fern was using OnOne software – it’s way easier than Photoshop but still has a lot of flexibility. I’m having fun with it.
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The monochrome treatment matches your theme well – the mood, the mellowness, indeed the mysteriousness.
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I figured it may not be bright and pretty out there, so just go with it!
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Luminous and lovely, Lynn!
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Potently beautiful…
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Excellent post!, Wonderful photo’s.
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