A MACRO VIEW

You would think

After years of gardening

There would be nothing new

To look at in my garden.

The climate has changed

Over my gardening lifetime

But not so much that I’m growing

Lots of different things.

The rhythm of the growing season

Unfolds in a similar way

Year after year.

Yet this year I’m looking at it

With new eyes.

Or maybe I should say

A new eye.

It’s a macro lens

For my iPhone.

My friend Debra got me interested in macro

When she started posting pictures like this

And this

And this.

Pretty amazing stuff.

Now she’s a serious photographer

With all the equipment

And knowledge to accentuate her talent.

I spend my time and money

On gardening equipment and plants.

So I was looking for a simple route

To macro photography.

What I didn’t expect

Was to be so drawn to the small details

Of my garden.

This place I know well

Inch by inch.

After all I crawl around it

Nine month out of the year.

I thought I knew it well.

After a few days

Of seeing it through this little lens

I find I’ve been missing a few details.

Like raindrops

And ants

And knowing ladybugs

Up close and personal.

Buds set to unfurl

And the flower within the flower

A usual I find a lesson in all of this.

Even when I know something well

Really well

There are surprises there

If I look

Closely.

Keeping a macro view of the world

Will help me learn even more about it.

Gail