Last week I was walking around a local farm, taking pictures of machinery for my paintings, when I looked down and saw a perfectly round cushion of moss perfectly centered on a rust red metal part. It looked dried out, but there it was nonetheless, trying to live in a spot that certainly couldn't have been a natural habitat.
Here's a healthier moss on another machine, looking like a lush island rising from a red sea.
Another group of plants, or weeds as they'd be called in my garden, are growing well in some old hay or manure caught behind a gear wheel.
And this delicate froth of leaves found a home under a power take off shaft, soft greens of life meeting the acidic green of painted metal.
A single tiny plant grows in the expanse of organic debris in the middle of a loader's bucket. Although a farm's business is growing plants and animals, when I see these unexpected little bursts of green taking advantage of any small possible foothold on metal, I am touched by the persistence and ingenuity of life.
Altoon,
ReplyDeleteLife finds its way through.
Thanks for reminding me.
ha! what a surprise, esp the first 2 photos that emphasize the strangeness.
ReplyDeleteWilliam, you are very welcome. I suppose this is the rural equivalent of grass growing through cracks in the sidewalk.
ReplyDeleterappel, I think you're right that the moss is especially strange, maybe because of its compact form.
Such an eye you have Altoon. Marvelous sightings and so well presented. Love the island on its metal and the green by green. Moss is such a treasure and these tiny flowers such survivors. Thanks for your thoughtful posts.
ReplyDeleteThis is a delightful post as it shows your eye so well and the connection to composition in your paintings. Thanks
ReplyDeletethanks so much, Maggie and Dona, for your appreciative comments.
ReplyDeleteWhat's growing above the gear wheel might be lamb's quarters, which in our garden sometimes gets picked to add to the salad bowl. Funny that we don't have any this year. Other weeds, but not that.
ReplyDeletethanks for the ID Helen. This year is strange for insects too; for some reason no lily beetles. I hope that holds true for later pesky insects.
ReplyDeleteThere is a long strip of lush velvety moss growing on the traffic island in front of my house. It's between two slabs of concrete and in full sun. Since moss doesn't have roots, it's not a case of a plant that has rooted in a skinny urban plot of dirt. It's really growing more on top like your photos. That's what I love about moss: it's constantly amazing.
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