sycamore

Temperatures in the 60's yesterday. There are a number of themes that have arisen as I have made my way through this journal over the years. One has to do with the process of revelation in the natural world. Phenomena in nature can seemingly hide in plain sight for years. It seems that once something is noticed, however, it appears to be everywhere.
Redently I posted a photo of a magnificent tree in Shelburne, Vermont. I had recognized its beauty years ago, but didn't know its name. My brother Bill suggested that it appeared to be a sycamore. He even showed where the sycamore is mentioned in the lyrics of "Moonlight in Vermont." It was only a few days later that I noticed a couple of sycamores on my drive to work. They are not far from the Clarendon river, not much more than a mile from my house. I have driven by these trees almost every day for thirty years, and never really noticed them. There are actually quite a number of sycamore trees in that area. How is it possible that I never really noticed them before?
There is something about this process of seeing something, describing it, naming it, that allows you to take ownership of it in a way. It becomes part of one's cognitive neighborhood. I have very much noticed this phenomenon in the world of astronomy. When you know the name of a star, or a constellation, you own it. It is forevermore a part of your world view.
Writing this daily journal has opened up the world of nature to me in ways that I never expected when I started out on this journey almost five years ago. It has been a very enlightening and gratifying process.