Well, as many of you will know, back at the beginning of January 2014, on a whim, I started taking a photograph each day, of one particular oak tree that I pass while walking the Delinquent Dog.
A year and many, many pictures later (I didn’t miss out too many days in 2014), I thought I’d make a little slide show to show how the oak and the surrounding hedges changed over the course of the year. It’s also a record of some of the blue skies – and the many grey – we enjoyed during our morning walks.
I love watching the tree, but in fact it’s really the changes in light that have had me most enthralled over the months – even the enormous changes day on day we sometimes have.
What these pictures don’t show is the rain – occasionally quite a lot of it! And sadly they can’t give you the sounds to go along with them. Today, it was really noticeable how much more the birds are beginning to sing again – it might not feel too spring-like yet, but it sounds like spring already. And there have been many mornings when the wind was roaring through the branches, like a train going past!
I’ve selected quite a few here, but if you’re really interested/mad/have nothing better to do – and want to see every day – go over to my Instagram page – click here or on the links in the sidebar – and you should be able to scroll through them all.
I was going to stop once I’d completed a whole year, but I find now that I can’t just walk past without getting the phone out for a quick snap, and anyway the dog automatically walks to our spot and waits for me, so I’ll just keep on doing it. I’ve sort of got into the habit of posting them up on Instagram, so if you want to keep following, just pop over to the side panel or follow me on Instagram.
If anyone feels a tiny bit inspired to do something similar – not necessarily a tree, there are lots of alternatives – please go ahead and tell us all about it – you’ll actually be the one who has the most fun though – I guarantee.
❤
Dreaming In Stitches 
Have you ever seen the film Nymphomaniac? They talk about the life of an oak tree repeatedly throughout and often visit the tree during each season to see how it changes. Your post reminds me of that. Beautiful idea.
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Emory
helloscarlettblog.com
Crikey Emory, I had to go and look that one up! Not exactly my normal viewing… just goes to show, oak trees attract all sorts! 🙂
I love the slideshow though I feel we need sound and smells too. Maybe next time 🙂 I think it’s amazing that you missed so few days – I took a photo from the corner of a field once a month from when it was sown with wheat until the combine harvested it and the ground was ploughed up. Maybe next time I’ll be more diligent and do it once a week.
Thanks – I don’t think I’d have managed it if I didn’t have to walk the boy anyway, but it’s like most things, once you get into the habit. Probably best to choose something that doesn’t require too much hassle – I’ve even wondered about the pot plants in the sitting room – at least I wouldn’t get soaked following them!
Making the time to stand and stare, it’s life enhancing isn’t it. I’ve really enjoyed following this project as you’ve gone along 🙂
Yes indeed, I used to think that all the advice about the mental and physical health benefits of a daily walk was a bit bland, but in fact once you do it, you find that it’s absolutely right.
Hi Anny,
I’ve loved watching this project – it chimes with one I did from 2003-4 when recovering from a slipped disc. I took the same view from the seafront, looking West along the coastline, at the same time of day roughly once a week. I ran the images from winter solstice to winter solstice. It gave me a real sense of following the pattern of both the sun in the sky and the tide rising and dropping on the shoreline. It really connects you the the pattern of our days doesn’t it 🙂
Yes indeed, I think the word ‘connection’ is spot on. I read a lot of books that repeatedly say it’s not enough to ‘read about’, you have to ‘do/practice’ and this for me explains why – just this little project has taught me so much, I do hope it inspires a few more people to try their own.
Fantastic, Anny, and I clicked through them all! A lovely idea and I can understand how you can’t quite let it stop there! I like the way the hedge grows up too, as you progress. This is something I shall think about, perhaps as a future project!
Glad you made it through! Give it a go Jo – choose something you can do without much hassle and then see where it takes you 🙂
Lovely. If you do carry on this year it’ll be interesting to see if there are any changes such as the time the leaves appear, especially as this has been such a mild winter.
Yes, exactly – that’s why I can’t bring myself to stop, I’m now hooked by the whole cyclic nature and I want to see how it unfolds this year too.