Just Because...

I saw this scene outside my kitchen window this afternoon and ran to get my camera so I could record this. Disclaimer: in order to get the camera to "see" the same thing the human eye sees, I had to adjust contrast and brightness on the computer program. I am satisfied that you are seeing roughly the same thing I witnessed. Okay, I know; I need a life...

This is an un-retouched photo of the scene this afternoon.

I love the way the light hits the limbs of the trees. The trees in front of the road are on our property and are mostly Slippery Elms (ulmus rubra). They are so named for the wet, inner bark that was thought to have healing powers for sore throats by Native Americans. Early settlers considered the leaves of the Slippery Elm to be the best to eat.* These trees are indiginous to southern Indiana. They are also susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease, so they are necessarily in the Elm Witness Protection Program.

*Source: The New Encyclopedia of American Trees, by Tony Russell, Catherine Cutler and Martin Walters. Published by Hermes House, 2005