Even the Dead

This is another of the four ‘en plein air’ sketches I completed during my stay at the Retreat Centre this summer. There are lots of trails upon which to wander. I discovered this bit of lace amongst the deeper greens of the surrounding forest. It is the negative space that fascinates me, those holes that surround the white, interlocking branches, lacy interludes encompassing the deeply emerald. The beauty caused me to pause and reflect that in the forest even the dead are included. They have a purpose. Either the beauty is enhanced with the contacts of light against dark or the fallen augment the soil in which the new seed sprouts. Even before they disintegrate the old trunks become home to a myriad of transient residents. Nothing is useless in the forest. Everything has a purpose. It is the way it should be.