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Birch trees catch my eye
deep in the trough of winter
white bark withstanding.
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© 2014, 2018 Betty Hayes Albright
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Partial of an original watercolor by my grandmother,
Lilly Bjornstad. (She painted this when she was about 100. She lived to 108.)
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(re-post)
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Used to love to see the birch trees when I lived in New Hampshire…especially with a blanket of snow.
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Sorry you don’t have them where you are, Charlie. They’re one of my favorite trees here in the Northwest. 🙂
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Your beautiful poem reminds me of Michigan winters. So gorgeous like this, white against white, sounds magnified and bell-like.
As for your grandmother’s painting – I[‘m astonished at her deft composition and skill with brushes and paint. Love the low horizon behind the birch trees. I hope I’m still painting at 100. (I hope I’m still painting next year!)
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I moved from Western New York to Missouri six years ago. I’m used to seeing birches. My wife is not, especially here in Missouri. We went to Michigan last September, and the birches left quite an impression on her.
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Thank you, Sharon! My grandma didn’t start painting until her late 80’s, when she was living in a retirement home. A hidden talent no one knew she had, including her. (Sadly I didn’t inherit her gift. 😊)
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You haven’t been taught, Betty.
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You’re right, Sharon. My main interest was always writing. Wish now I had done both. (Did a lot of pencil sketching in highschool but that’s it.)
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Your haiku is beautiful, as is the painting.
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Thank you very much, Ken.
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I do miss the birches. ❤
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I would too, Bela. ❤️
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beautiful! I’ve always loved birch trees ❤
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Thank you, me too! Especially in summer when their leaves “shiver” in the breeze. 💕
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Quite the artist, your grandmother. Do you have other pieces that she did. Beautiful art and poem to go with.
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Thanks, Renee! Yes, I have a few of her paintings around, including another with birches. This one is my favorite. 🙂
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Remarkable!
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Thank you!
(Something weird – your gravatar is showing up as my own. Another WP glitch I presume. Can you see it, or is it just on my computer?)
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Absolutely beautiful 💜
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Thank you so much, Willow. 💙
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💜💜💜
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Incredible, painting deep into the winter years, your grandmother sounds an inspired lady lifelong learner! Beautiful picture and haiku Betty ❤
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Thank you! My grandmother was pretty amazing. Always learning new things, along with her knitting and sewing projects. Plus she baked the most delicious Norwegian goodies. Oh, and she was fluent in both Norwegian and English and then taught herself to read Spanish just for fun. When she was 100 the queen of Norway came to Seattle and my grandma was chosen to present roses to her, and then got to chat with her later. Interesting life she had, yet always so humble. (Sorry, I didn’t mean to go on and on… 😊 )
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Enjoyed this immensely, she sounds like she was quite a venerable elder! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Thank YOU for reading it all. 🙂
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They glow amongst the others. So pretty. Wonderful, Betty
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Thank you, Audrey. 😊
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I’ve always held a certain fondness for white birch trees, and 108 yrs, wow, good genes there 🙂 peace and love, K
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Thank you, Kim! Peace and love back to you. ☮️💕
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Haven’t spotted this haiku before. Always one of my favourite trees, the birch. You capture their fascination so well and I love the ironic use of ‘withstanding’. Amazing to learn your grandmother found a talent so late in life. What a great gesture to display it to the world.
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Thank you very much! I’ve always loved birch trees too. Glad you liked the use of “withstanding”. 🙂
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Wow! Quite an achievement, to be painting at 100 at all never mind so impressively. Her granddaughter has talents of her own.
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She actually was still painting at 106 but gave it up when her eyesight became bad.
Thank you, Ben, for your kind words. 😊
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Your lovely words remind me of a cluster of three birch trees we had in the front of my childhood home, evoking great memories (although, without snow). 🙂
Sorry for my delayed comment, Betty, I’ve been real sick from stomach flu. So, hope all is well with you. 💗
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Lauren, I’m really sorry to hear you’ve been sick. Was missing you and starting to worry. Hope you’re much better now.
Thank you for the kind words – glad my post brought back good memories. Take good care of yourself! ❤️
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Thanks, Betty-much better now, thank goodness. 🙂 Have a great weekend! 💕
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Lauren, I meant to reply – you have a great weekend also! Stay well now. ❤️💕
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Birch trees were catching my eye the other day in Philadelphia. How wonderful that your grandmother was still painting when she was 100! My mom is still painting at 95, but she is almost blind, so she kind of does it by feel now.
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That’s also amazing for 95! Sorry she is going blind. That’s why my grandmother had to stop at about 106 – failing eyesight.
Thank you so much for stopping by, BTW. It’s about time we met here, since we seem to have many poet friends in common.
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106–wow! Yes, the blogosphere. 🙂
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