Owl, leaf, tree, wonder
Today’s pic is from Emily J’s keyword suggestion of leaf. This one was taken in 2019 and I remember being smitten by the green light shining through!
Well, today turned out to be a medical-mom day, by which I mean I spent 3 1/2 hours on the phone making appointments and updating records. But now my boy is set for the next few months, pending a few callbacks I should get next week.
All part of the job, eh?
Now the blue dark is settling outside the east window. Over the side fence, my neighbor’s magnolia tree looks a bit forlorn; our landlord sent some guys today to cut back the branches that were overhanging our patio. I can see clear through the tree to the trunk now and it feels a bit impolite to stare at its secrets.
Have you read Wishtree? I wrote a Dart for it, one of Katherine Applegate’s loveliest novels. If you don’t know it, you should treat yourself, even if you haven’t got a small child around to read to. I don’t either, anymore! How strange is that? But Huck read this one, perched beside me while I wrote the Dart (he often chimes in with adjective suggestions), and it was his favorite of last year’s Dart line-up. A gorgeous book about the long memories of trees, and the bustling world in and above and under and around them, and human stories, too: prejudice and pain and friendship and wonder.
We saw an owl in the magnolia last summer. Heard it calling and one by one we gathered in my studio to listen. He flew silently into the hidden center of the tree, behind the wide flat leaves, and resumed his thoughtful two-note meditation as we stood there, hushed and awed.
There. I put in “owl” and look what I found. Rilla painted this pair in 2014, just before she turned eight. Sometimes I forget what riches this blog holds for me.
Anna Rose Johnson says:
I haven’t yet read Wishtree, but I love your description of it. And the owls – so adorable!
Have you read Rosetown by Cynthia Rylant? It is such a wondrous, beautiful book that I bet you would really enjoy. It’s about a girl who takes refuge in vintage novels at a quaint used bookstore when her parents separate.
On January 6, 2023 at 5:18 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Ooh, no, I haven’t! I love Cynthia Rylant’s work. Will have to add it to my list. You had me at “takes refuge in vintage novels.” Then again, if you love a book I know it’s a good bet I will too. Your own book showed me that!
On January 6, 2023 at 5:44 pm
Anna Rose Johnson says:
Aww, thank you so much! <3 I love finding new books that feel like old favorites I've read a hundred times.
On January 7, 2023 at 12:16 pm
Julie Shewman says:
I’m loving all of these posts!!!
On January 6, 2023 at 6:18 pm
Melanie Bettinelli says:
Oh I love the owls! We occasionally hear them barred, Great horned and screech owls. But I’ve never seen one in the wild.
On January 7, 2023 at 12:05 pm
Selvi says:
Is your blue dark really blue these days? I also live in the pnw and I feel like it’s not really getting blue. But maybe I’ve somehow been missing it.
One thing I do like catching on many cloudy days is when the sun out over the water ducks down below the cloud cover with golden light for a short time before setting into the sea.
On January 7, 2023 at 7:06 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
It’s been mostly gray but that evening was truly blue. I’ve missed it!
Your golden hour sounds beautiful.
On January 9, 2023 at 3:01 pm