May 9, 2020, western Maine mountains, snowing. I’ve loved this old apple tree for over 20 years, as it leans ever more northeast and sheds branches whenever the wind blows. The twisted cavity at the bottom gets bigger and more rotten and more twisted each season, and if I hold the trunk lightly, I can feel the entire tree quiver in my hands as if I could yank it out with a sneeze. Each year I think of cutting it down to make mowing the lawn easier, but I never do. It has such a pleasing form that I would miss just looking at it. And each year it blossoms beautifully, as if oblivious to it’s own slow demise. I suppose there’s a lesson in there for each of us.

Meta: Pentax K-3, 100mm f/2.8 macro @ f/20, ISO 100, 1/5th of a second, air temp below freezing and snowing rather heavily