‘Birch Bursting Forth’
Oil on Canvas 14″ X 11″
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This is a magnificent Birch tree, over 7 1/2 feet around at its base,
growing right up close to our cabin where it thrives on the extra
rainwater that funnels down to its roots from the roof.
With my morning coffee, at the beginning of every day,
I sit and gaze into its stately exuberance for life.
In summertime sun, its leafy green abundance
shimmers in the lightest of breezes.
A whole world of birds lives way up in its obliging canopy,
barely visible to us, earthbound below.
Its lower limbs welcome hammocks with open arms, and
its shade provides wonderful cool respite on too-hot days.
I bask in its sheltering presence, and its benevolent beauty inspires me.
It seems to burst forth into the sky realms from its deep nurturing rootedness,
so I thought to paint it emerging from the graceful, egg-like oval shape
symbolic of harmony, protection and completeness,
motherhood and renewal.
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Paper Birch or White Birch (Betula papyrifera) can reach 100 feet tall;
they are fast growing and relatively short-lived, rarely exceeding 140 years old.
They are common in moist, cool ecosystems.
First Nations people used the bark extensively for baskets, canoes and other containers.
The sap was used as a tonic.
The wood makes top-quality firewood.
Called the ‘Noble Birch,’ the tree is symbolic of inception and renewal,
being the first in the forest to put out new growth in the Spring.
~~~
~Barbara Brown, from Volume I, SYLVAN REFLECTIONS, Wanderings, Paintings & Ponderings From the Forest, Page 35