Up before the dawn, but there will be no sunrise this morning. Our small world here could already feel the coming change upon the wind late yesterday, and now, the sky is blanketed by clouds. The air is silent and mostly still, heavy with a haunting sense of anticipation, as though the earth itself holds its breath as we await our first winter storm.
As the darkness lifts, it begins to look like an early winter, too: the gold of drifting aspen leaves arrayed against violet skies, the evergreens newly lush and nearly blue.
The evergreens have not escaped the drought, though. A few of the smaller piñon are already gone; the young Ponderosa pine is struggling. Even the blue spruce, seemingly impervious until now to all effects of weather and climate, have begun to brown, and Wings has been at work for weeks connecting hoses and pulling them across the land, trying to keep them alive one more dry season in hopes of the healing arrival of winter snows.
If the forecast is accurate, we shall have them by tomorrow.
Still, not all of the evergreens are in danger. Outside yesterday in brilliant glow of the autumn afternoon sun, I noticed that one of the junipers is positively thriving. It’s one of a pair of small matched trees, what at home we called red cedars peaked in a classic holiday shape that sits some distance outside the front windows behind the lilac bushes. Both are rich and green but this one is darker than its companion, nearly as blue as a spruce, its boughs weighted heavily with rich violet berries. And through it floated the spangling amber glow of leaves from the adjacent aspen, sun-like ornaments drifting through its lush needles.
The sight put me in mind of today’s featured work, in in Wings’s sometime series of evergreens, usually created for the holidays but at this elevation, apt for any time of year. Of the current collection, this one is my personal favorite, its jeweled accents reminding me of the rich colors of the trees themselves and of the golden glow of the sun that touches their slender tips. From its description in the Pins Gallery here on the site:
Sunlit Cedar Tree Pin
A sunlit cedar welcomes the winter light. Wings pays tribute to sun and season, tree and earth on which it stands, with this little pin cut freehand from sterling silver. The flared and scalloped trunk stands sturdy and firm, while the tips of the branches reach upward slightly, as though to meet the sun. The orb’s rays, peeking out faintly from beneath snowclouds, garland the boughs, while the small flowery tips of the cones, hand-stamped, spangle the surface. At the middle, the evergreen’s rich hues show themselves by way of bezel-set cabochons of lapis and jade, while a fiery amber sun rests near the top. Tree stands 1-1/2″ high by 1-3/8″ across at the widest point; cabochons are 1/8″ across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; amber; lapis lazuli; jade
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Against today’s slate-blue skies, the aspen leaves look like tiny heart-shaped suns: gold and amber, copper and bronze, tiny bits of fire just waiting for their cue to fall to earth or ride upon the wind. There is the scent of weather in the air, and the sky is full of promise.
There is much to do before the snow arrives, always assuming that it does. But there is a storm gathering now, and our whole small world awaits, hoping for the spangled beauty of an early winter’s light.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2020; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
