Vertical

I’m under the canopy for most of my walks in the Arboretum, surrounded by the lower limbs of trees or the fullness of shrubs. So it’s not common for me to encounter the trunks of trees, especially in such an array as this.

 These conifers are pretty much in the same or similar genus, not that I speak that language. And yet I am struck by the diversity of color and texture even among trees in the same “family.”

 I suppose it’s not a surprise, really – look at humans and the diversity of physical appearance that we exhibit. I find it moving, for reasons I can’t articulate, that this peaceful plot encompasses so many lives, so much similarity and diversity. We need to learn to treasure both.