Tree Spirits

The month of October is the month when the veil between the Spirit World and ours grows thinnest....especially around the date of Hallowe'en/Samhain.  So for today's Halloween Countdown, I wanted to share a couple of my own encounters with Spirits this past year.  Specifically, I am speaking of Tree Spirits! Maybe it's those Celtic/Druid roots and magic at play...but I frequently find myself in the presence of Tree Spirits when shooting outdoors near woodlands, forests and groves.  

This Autumn Maple stares at you with it's freshly cut eyes, and appears ready to grab you with it's outstretched arms!

It always happens in much the same way.  I'm  happily photographing away, when I suddenly get a 'vibe'!  It is a sense that I am not alone, when I know for a fact that there are no other humans with me.  That's when I'll stop what I'm doing and take a look around, to see which tree it is that wants to be acknowledged.  It's then that I discover what had previously been hidden from my view....the Tree Spirit, usually in the form of a face.  In these next two images I was still shooting as darkness was falling when I saw something that literally looked like a face.

Sometimes it's a rudimentary face, formed from the precise angles of knots and limbs and bark, that if viewed from any other point of view would revel no face at all. But on rare occasions...the face will actually look quite human in form, as though a person has been trapped into the tree itself.  One famous example of that would be how Nimue trapped Merlin in a Hawthorne tree by use of his own magic!  The photo below was one of the most eerie trees I've seen.  I didn't notice the VERY human like face on the tree while looking at it from the front.  It was only after I'd moved to the side of it and our light hit it, that I I saw  the very clear face.  I did a double-take and then bade my husband to confirm that I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.  We were both a little creeped out because the face looked so real. It looked as though a person had been petrified in the tree.  But then all the limbs behind it give it a more otherworldly creature like look.  Below is an even closer image so you can see the uncanny and human like detail. So just what is a 'Tree Spirit'?

In the Darkling Wood is a tree that captures Lost Souls.  Be careful not to touch it or your soul will take the place of the Trapped Soul, setting it free!

 "A Tree Spirit is a type of 'nature spirit' that is effectively the 'living soul' of the tree.  They are visible to those with psychic awareness, and appear in varying forms depending on what type of tree they reside in.  Tree Spirits are ghostly and other-worldly, often glimpsed out of the corner of the eye in a darkened wood or a flash of sunlight through the forest canopy. Primarily Tree Spirits act as the guardians and life force of the trees.  They are keen to share their wisdom on time, place and ancestry, as well as also being excellent healers as well."

And with that story there is also a warning to be heeded...."Tree Spirits are not entirely bound to their trees.  They can venture a short distance away, and legends tell of folk becoming unsettled in the forests at night, due to the Tree Spirits stirring and walking about the woods."
( https://suite.io/louise-heyden/1y1p2wm)

So next time you are alone in the woods, pay close attention to the trees around you, for you never know when that slight chill up your spine is alerting you to a Tree Spirit close at hand!

Beware the Eyes of the Birch Tree...they are always watching!

All Image © W. Amdahl (all rights reserved)

All Tricks and No Treats for Me This Year!

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.

Hello Everyone....And Happy Halloween!  I hope everyone had an exciting September! I personally find September to be almost as much fun as our much beloved October.  September brings all the excitement of the first Halloween items haunting the store shelves, and the first delicious taste of the Pumpkin Spice goodies of the season.  I truly live for, and long for, the 1st day in September all year long, which is then followed by the Autumnal magic of my favorite month of October!  Ahh yes...October! A month of leaves aflame in color, gourds ripe for the picking, breezy days and crisp cool October eves, twinkling with stars and awash in the glow of magical moonbeams.  And of course the mischievous grins of Jack O'Lanterns glowing bright on Hallowe'en Night!

In fact, this year I had actually begun my Halloween Countdown planning early and I was so proud of myself. Since this is my first post this season, you probably won't believe me.  But it's true....I decided that I would not be caught coming up short of posts in this year's Halloween Countdown, so I began completing posts early in the summer and saving them for October.  And I'm proud to say that I actually had 10 of them finished and under my witch's belt before tragedy struck.  Yes, anyone who has followed my blog for the last 5-6 years knows that I never miss the Autumn Season and Hallowe'en here in the blogosphere.  I might be MIA the rest of the year due to real life taking precedence, but I always find my way home to my Halloween Town on the web, and my little Witch's Lair in the Halloween Tree by August or September.  I blow back into town on a magical autumn breeze and revel in the Halloween Frolic with all my fellow Halloween Loving Denizens!  And I always come laden down with gifts to share of photographs, crafty things, haunted tales, artwork and poems to celebrate the season.

But sadly, that was not in the ole' tarot cards for me this year, even in spite of actually being semi-prepared in advance for once!  No, unfortunately the fickle finger of fate, lay it's boney curse upon me and turned my world upside down.  In mid-August, my dear Mother suffered a stroke.  So I spent the rest of a sleepless, stressful August, and first part of September, in and out of the hospital and rehab with her.  Then due to extenuating circumstances far beyond my control....we had no choice but to move her into our home with us for good.  This meant the rest of September and now October have been inundated with that massive transition, with no real end in sight any time soon.  Two lives have been forever changed and I'd be lying to say that it's been anything but overwhelming, exhausting and all-consuming!  It was not something that either of us would ever have wanted, yet it is what we now must both endure.  I have hopes that time will make things better, and that once all the dust of sorting out the mess and combining our lives has cleared....that maybe things will get easier for us all.  And maybe by this same time next year...we will have gotten into a groove that we all can live with..  And maybe, just maybe....I will be able to once again embrace the season with the same positivity, exuberance and anticipation that I've always had for it....but that has eluded me this year!

So needless to say, this is the very first chance I've had time to log on over here and provide an explanation as to why I haven't been online.  Since I literally exist the whole rest of the year...solely for the autumn months of September and October....I've found it rather depressing to be incapable of tapping into the excitement that this time of year usually brings. It hasn't been for lack of trying mind you...as I did reluctantly break out the Halloween decorations, and we've watched a lot of my favorite Halloween movies, and somehow even managed to still take our annual New England trip with a LOT of help from our relatives, who agreed to stay in our home with my Mom while we were gone.  But even in the midst of the most glorious Autumn Foliage we've seen in New England in a long time....I was just too depleted physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to tap into my usual seasonal excitement....and it's left me feeling rather down I must confess. But that doesn't mean that my favorite season of Fall, and my favorite holiday of Halloween is completely lost....it's just been majorly hijacked and hampered by life's ruthless twists and turns.:o(

So I have missed everyone here so very much, and I send out heartfelt wishes to you all for a most Magical All Hallow's Eve!  I didn't want to come completely empty handed, so  I'm posting a few Autumn Photos from my collection.  They are filled with the familiar black and orange colors that epitomize for me....the most spooktacular season of the year!  I sincerely hope everyone has been enjoying all the fun the Fall Season and Hallowe'en Holiday has to offer, and I hope to be able to share in the Autumn Revelry with you all in full next year, since life had other plans for me this time around! Hope to see you all around the Hallowe'en Tree this time next year, if not sooner!

PS...And just so I can officially keep calling it the "Annual Viewing"....I am posting the disturbingly fun yet so awkward and creepy  "Pumpkin Man Dance Video below! At least I was able to keep one tradition alive and kicking (literally) this year!  Enjoy.....or not! ;o)

Autumn Through my Lens

A tangerine and russet cascade

Of kaleidoscopic leaves

Creates a tapestry of autumn magic

Upon the emerald carpet of fading summer.

~ Judith A. Lindberg

Today's post is a collection of quintessential Autumn shots that I photographed from around New England.  They could be from Vermont, Massachusetts or New Hampshire, depending on what ever back roads we were lost on at the time.  The one thing that always holds true there, is the color.  Even a bad year for color in New England is far more glorious than most places.  These images are from different years, but most of them incorporate bodies of water of some type or other....lakes, falls, streams.  The foliage always seem to be brighter and more lovely near the water.  I guess the leaves respond well to all the moisture!  {Sigh} I never tire of photographing and reveling in the splendor that is Autumn!  (You can click the images to view larger, as I can't fit the larger size on my page without cutting some off.)  Ahhh...New England, oh how I love thee....

And as of TODAY....I am officially on AUTUMN TIME!!!

  

 

  

  

 

 

All Images © Wendy A. (All Rights Reserved)

Hello Autumn, My Old Friend - Part 1 of 2

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.

The winds will blow their own freshness into you,

and the storms their energy,

while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

~ John Muir

Well...I am sad to report that we are now home from our Autumn vacation....boo hiss! Why is it that vacation passes SO stinking fast? And why oh why do I live in Florida when there are states out there as beautiful as Vermont and New Hampshire? {sigh}Okay, enough feeling sorry for myself....moving on! Vacation was pure Fall Fabulousness as always, BUT, it was somewhat lacking on the two most important things I look forward to when heading to New England. And those two things were 1.) Cold Weather and 2.) Colorful Leaves. Apparently we got there too early this year, and right in time for a warming trend. So not only was there a decided lack of color to the trees, but some days it was literally warm enough to wear shorts. If that doesn't suck acorns, I don't know what does!!

(My son on the zip-line)

But never one to dwell on the negative for too long...I decided I would not let it dampen my commune with my old friend Autumn! Besides...what is 'shorts' weather to you northerners, is still sweater weather for me.

(Yours truly, happily flying zipping across an autumn ravine.
All I need is a pointed hat and a broom! )

So on our first day there, we drove up to Stowe Vermont and up into Smuggler's Notch to do some Zip-Lining. We've zip-lined before in Gatlinburg, TN, but ArborTrek's ZipLine at Smugg's puts that to shame. It was truly incredibl,e zip-lining through the tree canopy in Autumn. High above the mountain sides, over streams and gorges....from one tree platform to another. It takes almost three hours to complete, has really long zip lines, (with one being almost 1000 ft. long), and two rappels off the platforms to the ground below. That was new for us....we've never rappelled before....and I must be honest and say that it was scary and I didn't much care for that part. The harness actually bruised the ribs in my back. But I'm glad that I did it, and I would most certainly do it all again. Yes, I'm pretty sure that the Smuggler's Notch Zip-Lining will now be a family tradition every time we go back to New England, because it was just that fantastic!The color was just starting to turn when we arrived, which disappoints me because those lucky jokers who had reservations on the day we came home....were zipping through a multi-colored Autumn wonderland. But...beggars can't be choosers, and I'm just grateful to have been there at all.

(My daughter acting crazy on the zipline,
and giving me a nervous breakdown.)

So after we finished zip-lining, we had to travel back down through Smuggler's Notch. And since it was so beautiful outdoors, we decided to pull off at some of the viewing areas and climb up the rocks on the side of the mountain. The color was better in this area, although it was mostly bright yellows and gold with a little oranges here and there. The kids took off up the mountain to see what they could see, while I found myself a big flat boulder up on the mountain side and decided to lay down on it and try to connect with the earth's energy. This was pure bliss for me!

I laid there feeling the coolness of that rock while staring up at a canopy of golden leaves. The warmth of the setting sun filtered through just enough to make the leaves glisten like real gold. The air was cool and dry, and had the most incredible earthy smell to it. It smelled fresh and clean...of herbs and leaves and moss and earth....it smelled like only Autumn can smell. And as I laid there, I was quite certain that it was my version of Heaven. I would gladly tarry there for eternity if only I could.Then I thought to myself..."if only my Halloween friends could be here enjoying this very spot with me"! For only THEY can truly appreciate and understand the depth of what Autumn offers to its 'Autumn People'. YOU all...could appreciate the solitude of laying on that massive rock, staring up in complete bliss at the glory of Autumn. So you know what I did? I decided I should take a few shots UP...so that I could share with you what I was viewing from my vantage point. I laid there on my back and lifted up my camera and shot what I saw above me. I was feeling very connected to the cycle of life, to the changing seasons, and to the earth itself....when my blissful solitude was broken by the excited shrieks of my children....calling out to me that they had found a 'treasure box' up in a cave on the mountainside. Knowing their active imaginations, I "yes deared" them while trying to get back into my zen space....but they were relentless. I HAD to come and see it right that very minute. Of course I was somewhat peeved that I had to trek myself up the mountain to see some imaginary 'treasure box', but my son insisted it was real. The hubster then appears on the scene and confirms that it was indeed real. So I struggle to release the magnetic force that was connecting me to my rock, and carefully climbed my way up higher on the mountain, not sure of what to expect.

I had visions of some pirate chest perhaps....or more likely, an empty fast food container that they found and filled with pinecones, rocks and other 'treasures from nature'. But I was way off! They had indeed found a 'treasure chest' of sorts, and it was purely accidental. My son spotted it up in the crook of some rocks, so he and his sister decided to investigate it. And what a VERY COOL find it was too. Turns out...we opened that box up and discovered something brand new that we had no idea existed until that very day.

So I'll stop here and share our discovery with you in my next post.
All Images © 2011 Wendy A. and ArborTrek (All Rights Reserved)