Thursday, June 12, 2008

Pools of Cool



I love tree shade. It has soul. The waving branch shadows, the little dots of light squeezing through the leaves, and the round shadow shapes create a welcoming feeling you can't get from standing in the squarish block of shadow cast by a building. I know this isn't physically possible, but sometimes shadows cast by buildings feel even hotter than standing in full sunlight - at least to me.

Buildings can only cast plain squares of shade. It's not their fault, is it? Truth is, they can't offer much comfort on a sweet, hot summer day, even if they wanted to. But when trees cast shadows, those shadows become regions of cool. When I walk from sunlight into tree shade, I feel like I've entered a room or a pool, a realm of cool.

What would summer be without them?

9 comments:

Squirrel said...

Trees have wonderful souls. They breathe and sigh, and cast the best shade- that lets dappled sunshine thru sometimes- Nice Post.

Reya Mellicker said...

Thanks, Squirrel. Who would understand tree shade better than you?

Just now on our walk, I asked my shadow, "Do you have soul?"

"None of yer business," it replied.

Oh well. Figures.

tut-tut said...

I love that stray green leaf up top; it's a great counterpoint to the sunray in the water . . .

Deborah said...

which comes first
what you pen
what you photograph

gorgeous and moving

all my love

Steve Reed said...

I think it's the dappled effect of tree shade that makes it special. A building casts a shadow, but a tree makes shade. Funny how that is.

lettuce said...

lovely larkspur

and lovely larkspur shadows

Reya Mellicker said...

So it's larkspur?? Cool, Letty, that you know the names of all these beautiful flowers.

Deborah, always the image first. I pic an image I like and then I think of something to say that I feel is related.

Thanks, ya'll.

Laurie Brandriet Keller said...

Sometime it's just the opposite for me. Words first, image later. Nice post!

hele said...

Its magic reached across the oceans and danced its coolness across my heart.