Four Seasons With COVID
Spring Snow
Oak Trees in Spring Snow
Spring Burst
Spring Burst
The streets were covered with snow when Portlanders sequestered during
the first week of March last year. I remember walking through the
neighborhood, enjoying the silence and softness of blanketed lawns
where daffodils pushed through the darkness in search of sunlight. The
snow melted a few weeks later and all at once, the tulips burst into
bloom. Most of us thought the COVID scare would be over by summer,
never imagining it would last more than a year.
Replanting the Garden
Replanting the Garden
By the end of April, gardeners were out in force carrying heavy bags of
fertilizer and purchasing trays of young plants to add cheer to their
homes and to glorify the streets to remind us of what is good. "Life
continues," we said, "no matter what happens, we have to stay in touch
with family, eat, and make the best of it. We'll plant gardens and be
okay.
I took walks in the woods, enjoying the soft yellow-green colors of
spring. The path by my house and the arboretum were favorite places to
visit early in the morning before they became crowded with hikers and
joggers. As I wandered through narrow trails unable to look at treetops
without tripping, I inspected the trunks by my side and found beauty in
their variety.
California Bay Laurel
California Bay Laurel
I touched their bark, noticing some that were rough and others smooth,
some hard as stone while others were spongy.
Cedar Tree
Cedar Tree Bark
Maple Tree Bark
Maple Tree Bark
Sapsucker on PawPaw Tree
Sapsucker on PawPaw Tree
shopping
I saw that PawPaw trees held their outer bark on tight like the skin on
a body. The tree is home to insects that sapsuckers find by tapping
their beaks in evenly spaced lines. Their fruit is a delicacy that
feeds millions of people.
Pacific Madrone
Pacific Madrones bend in the wind with a thin bark that peels off to
leave lustrous light wood peeking through beneath.
Douglas FirDouglas Firs are built like pillars, tall, strong, and
straight, protected by an outer skin that says "don't bother me."
Douglas Firs built like pillars, tall, strong, and straight are
protected by a thick outer skin that says "don't bother me."
As spring turned into summer, children flew kites on the beech and the
virus kept spreading.
As spring turned into summer, children flew kites along with the COVID
virus that kept spreading. Throughout America, hundreds of thousands of
people marched in protest of George Floyd's inhumane death.
Life Rolls With Hope
Life Rolls With Hope
The clouds cried tears of sadness as men tried to protect loved ones.
Children followed carrying hope for the future. Most Oregonians marched
peacefully, yet there was much destruction. Many protesters didn't wear
masks. Covid spread.
Extremists turned Portland's center-city into a disaster zone. A bronze
sculpture of an elk was destroyed. Why that? Jobs were lost. Social
distancing made shelters inadequate. Adjacent to smashed windows and
boarded-up buildings, hundreds of tents were erected. Still, COVID
continued. More tents appeared. More trash accumulated. More people
died.
Amazon trucks tripled, flooding neighborhoods, yet traffic remained
light because people worked from home. The air became cleaner, easier
to breathe. With 6,000 fewer planes flying daily there days when the
sky was crystal clear.
On the surface, the city looked peaceful. Police records show shootings
escalated, robberies increased, and domestic violence became rampant.
Elm Tree
Elm Trees
Over the summer, there were families that ventured to uncrowded beaches
while others looked for shade to get away from the heat.
Red Pines on the Atlantic
Red Pines on the Atlantic
Weeping Willow
Weeping Willow
Fires in the Northwest
Fires in the Northwest
Then, towards the end of August, the West Coast burst into flame. It
was difficult to breathe. People lost homes and cried through their
masks. Generous souls made donations to help them survive. Nature
showed us who was in control. Life is precious and must be cared for
and valued.
More got COVID. More died. More wore masks.
Crabapple
Crabapple
The Crabapples ripened and were picked for pies. No one goes hungry if
they know how to live off the land. Squirrels worked at collecting
sap-filled pine cones with seeds to put away for winter. They dropped
them from high trees to land with a thud on our porch where they left a
sticky mess. When did our trees get so big and falling cones loud
enough to wake us up?
Despite the devastation, the weather began to cool and chestnuts
started falling. On outings, I filled a bag with them to roast. They
reminded me of my childhood when our turkey was stuffed with chestnut
filling. Thanksgiving and Christmas were bitter-sweet holidays filled
with longing. Some traveled despite warnings not to, and so COVID
flourished. More died.
Chestnut Tree
Chestnut Tree
By then, leaves had changed colors and dropped from their branches. The
deciduous trees displayed their bark more fully when they were bare. I
loved examining the way their branches are in an assemblage of shapes.
Walks became a treebark lover's paradise.
In the Northwest, we are fortunate to have a variety of Evergreens that
keep Oregon green. in winter their color is dark and the trees appear
to be sleeping.
Birch Trees
Birch Trees
January became February, and it will shortly be March. One year after
the start of sequestering, despite civil unrest, we have a new
president and over 500,000 dead from COVID. Yet there is progress.
Almost 14 percent of the US population has received at least one dose
of vaccine. The Magnolia trees are budding and getting ready to bloom.
There is renewed hope that our lives will be better by summer.
Magnolia Trees in bloom IMG-1455
Magnolia Trees in Bloom
To see the entire COVID-19 series go to
https://www.eichingerfineart.com/collections/142242
For more information or to comment I can be reached at
marilynne@eichingerfinearat.com.
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