Busy

I went to a part of the Arb that is new to me. I’d tell you where it was, but I’d twisted and turned on so many bark paths, I’m just not sure. I like that about the Arb: I wasn’t lost, I just didn’t know where I was.

I found this Japanese Stewartia, several years older than I am, with bark that reminds me of sycamore, with its patches of light color bark along with darker areas.

The benefit of getting close in is that you see so much that might otherwise escape notice, like the network of lines that looks a bit like scratches, although they’re not. The textures, the subtle range of colors is almost clearer standing next to it than it is from a distance.

I walk without focusing on where exactly I am, aiming to look close in rather than search for vistas. I am always rewarded with new things to look at.