skunk cabbage

9:48 AM Posted by James Owens





sprouting from mud and decay
as many beautiful things do



40 comments:

Unknown said...

How cool! Beautiful colours you've captured here. I love that you included the mud in your frames - it's integral!

Anne said...

I like these bright colours, brighter because of the darkness of the marsh: a very intersting symbol.
Anne

Anonymous said...

très belle photo aux couleurs éclatantes
(Josette)

Marion McCready said...

Never seen/heard of such a thing! Such bright colours but would it be odd of me to say I love the rich colour of the mud in the first pic? :)

sonia a. mascaro said...

You captured the nature with poetic eyes.

lissa said...

looks like some odd creature from some fantasy land but strangely mesmerizing

Dominika said...

agradable para mí, el saludo del polaco

Dominika said...

nice to me, greetings from Poland
super blog

beth said...

I'm assuming you know that that is skunk cabbage, right ?
we have tons of it out at our weekend cottage and it entertains me every year....I'm a simple girl that way :)

beth said...

I'm also an idiot for not even reading your post title....
the big one that says SKUNK CABBAGE !

sheesh....I need to stop multitasking !!

S. Etole said...

what a touch of beauty ... both the plant and the backgrounds

LadyFi said...

Wow - that's an amazing looking plant!

James Owens said...

Krista: It’s simple honesty, don’t you think? There are no flowers without dirt. And besides, what’s more fun than playing in the mud?


Anne: I like that contrast. It was that at first that I had to get a picture of. These plants are almost the only color in the marsh right now, shimmering in the black water like flames. They communicate such a sense of strength, of life-force….


Josette: Merci. Je suis content que tu les aimes.


Sorlil: Hmmm … maybe that is odd … but I like odd … all the most interesting people are odd.... And I like the mud, too…. Skunk cabbage is, by the way, a fascinating plant. Usually the first thing you see growing in the spring, they bloom in the snow sometimes, or push up right through the ice in a marsh like this one. They can do this because they actually generate heat. A large skunk cabbage can be as warm as a human body!


Sonia: Thank you for visiting. I’m glad you found something you liked.


Lissa: They really don’t look like anything else, do they? Alien pods creeping out of the swamp in the middle of the night….


Dominika: Thank you and welcome. Poland in your blog looks to be still quite frozen….


Beth: Lol! Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. They can be very abundant. Of course, photographs can’t quite communicate the reason why they are called “skunk” cabbage….


Aripi de fluture: Thank you! I’m pleased you like them.


Susan: They work together, don’t they? I think I was lucky this was a cloudy day. This wet mud was so reflective, I don’t know how it would have looked in the sunlight….


LadyFi: I never saw these until a few years ago. I used to live farther south, and they don’t grow there, but here they are everywhere, in any wet mud spot….

Marion McCready said...

'all the most interesting people are odd' - that's what I keep telling myself :)

Unknown said...

james the red of this plant just jumps out of the photo.

i always wonder why certain plants are coloured the way they are? what is the mechanism behind the design?

James Owens said...

Sorlil: How boring normal people are! How I pity them :-)

James Owens said...

Claire: Supposedly, bright colors in flowers help attract insects for pollination, but that idea seems a bit tenuous to me. More likely it is a sort of music, the drear world longing to be beautiful....

Randi said...

The first signs of spring are always very special and your photo proves that! Lovely and beautiful.

I want to thank you for your very kind comment on my blog!

James said...

That looks like a very interesting plant. I wondef if it give off a pungent odor or if it can be eaten with corned beef. :)

Roxana said...

nu am văzut niciodată aşa ceva, nu cred ca există la noi - ce frumoase sunt culorile, mai ales cele ale mlaştinii: ca o mângâiere a sufletului, de nespus...


Winter song

You are so beautiful in winter!
The field stretched on its back, near the horizon,
and the trees stopped running from the winter wind ...
My nostrils tremble
and no scent
and no breeze
only the distant, icy smell
of the suns.
How transparent your hands are in winter!
And no one passes -
only the white suns revolve in quiet worship.
and the thought spreads in circles
ringing the trees
in twos
in fours.


english translation by Thomas Carlson and Vasile Poenaru.

Roxana said...

sorry, it should be:

and the trees stopped running from the winter wind...

dyanna said...

Very interesting.I have never seen this before.

isabella kramer - veredit said...

That's so beautiful and that'important, just preserve the look for this minutiae.

"Auch der Baum, auch die Blume warten nicht bloß auf unsere Erkenntnis.
Sie werben mit ihrer Schönheit… aller Enden um unser Verständnis."
Christian Morgenstern

Hugs
Isabella

Nefertiti said...

superbe !

James Owens said...

Randi: Welcome to my blog! Yes, the first signs of spring ... they happen almost in the subconscious ... we don't notice anything, then one day we see flowers and new birds everywhere...

James Owens said...

James: It gives off quite an odor :-) Never heard of anyone eating them....

James Owens said...

Roxana: Da, mlaștina spune nespus-ul, și avem ecou, o mângâiere.... Poezia este perfectă :-)

James Owens said...

dyanna: Thank you for visiting. I'm glad to show you something new :-)

James Owens said...

Isabella: Preserving the minutiae is love for the world and response to what it says to us. I see this same attention to the details at your blog :-) Thank you for the Morgenstern. Hugs.

James Owens said...

Nefertiti: Je te remercie.

Lady Jo said...

Jamais vu cette plante!
la nature est bizarre et le poème très beau !

Merci James .

myonlyphoto said...

Wow James never see that before.
Thanks for sharing, Anna :)

James Owens said...

Lady Jo: La nature me surprend constamment. Quand je crois la connaître, elle me montre quelque chose de vraiment imprévisible. Une belle semaine à toi!

James Owens said...

Anna: I'm happy to show you something new :-) Actually, I've been surprised by how many people say they've never seen this before....

Randi said...

Thank you, James for your comment. I love your blog and now I have your blog in my bloglist.
I wish you a great week with lots of spring signs!

Anonymous said...

Remarkable and beautiful shots, James!

James Owens said...

Randi: Thank you! I wish the same for you :-)

James Owens said...

Renee: Thanks! Spring seems to be coming along nicely in Rochester....

chrome3d said...

Never seen that before but it´s a favourite to get the 1st price in the competition of the most erotic plant ever.

James Owens said...

Chrome: Lol ... I see just what you mean....