Sunday, March 03, 2013

Photo-Heart Connection February 2013


Walking the dogs around the neighborhood one evening last week, we saw this magnificent tree with the full moon in it's branches.  We ran home to get the camera and snap some pics before the moon rose above the branches.

While we were standing there admiring the tree and snapping pics, some of the neighbors came out to see what was so interesting (Possum? Owl? Accident?)  No just the moon in this old oak tree! 

One guy was working on his truck in the driveway.  This tree lives in front of the house he's renting.  He informed us that it would be cut down one day soon because it's causing havoc with the sewer system. 

It makes me sad to think that the fate of this magnificent tree--older than any one of us standing there that night--older than anyone currently living in the neighborhood--is in jeopardy as humanity encroaches on it yet again.  Sigh!  I've admired this tree for years, and finally felt moved to take a picture--before it was too late.    Can trees get Historic status?  Or is my role to simply be a witness to its beauty this mid-winter night?

As for the processing on this image, I did a little spot-healing in the neighborhood to "turn off" streetlamps and porch lights.  Then I added 1 layer of Jerry Jones' Shadowhouse Creations Square-129 Texture.  This midnight blue texture has a spiral thing going on that makes a nice reflection of the radiating moonlight and tree silhouette.  Most of the picture we took are a little blurry--making me realize I need a tripod for this kind of night photography with longer shutter speeds.

Check out what other people have posted for the  February Photo-Heart Connection.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful images -- and full of love for trees. It always breaks my heart when I hear that someone plans to cut down a tree..

Sandra said...

Such a beautiful tree and a touching story. I'm so glad you managed to capture this moment with the moon - whatever happens in the future. Trees are such precious things to have on this planet.
I am trying out the word verification for a third time. I hope that it will work this time. They are very difficult to read.

Kathryn Dyche said...

So sad that tree is going to be cut down. It always feels like a gaping wound when one is removed. Love the image and the processing, so glad you were able to capture it.

seabluelee said...

Oh, this PHC breaks my heart. How sad to think of that beautiful old tree being cut down. But your images are beautiful!
By the way, I've had a difficult time with your word verification, too. Since you moderate comments anyway, would it be possible to turn word verification off?

Michele Matucheski said...

I turned off the word verification last night, but this morning I had a pile of spam comments to wade through. The word verification IS doing it's job. So I turned it back on this am. Thank you to all who persevered and left comments anyway.

Anonymous said...

In many communities trees can have a historical "value" and exempt from being cut down. I am sure a "reroute" of the plumbing could be done in order to preserve the tree best of luck

Cathy H. said...

This makes me sad, too! Don't you wish you the tree could talk and tell you all it's stories! Beautiful warm image and great processing! I saw the mention of word verification. I solved the spam problem by stopping the annoymous comments and haven't had any spam since. You might want to try that.

Michele Matucheski said...

I DO wish that tree could talk--or that I could hear its stories through the years. It's a different kind of listening, though ....

Prairie Jill said...

What a beautiful shot! The colours are perfect.