Paul Cezanne once said that In order to make progress, there is only nature, and the eye is turned through contact with her. The turning of the eye is a simple phrase that speaks of knowledge and enlightenment to me, to seeing the world in new and different ways.

I took this photograph a few weeks ago and I find myself going back to look at it time and time again. It was an ornamental cabbage upon which a feather had fallen. The ornamental cabbage was silverish grey with a hint of the blue/green I have seen in the shells of some Araucana chickens, and the feather a dark grey/brown that shimmered and the tiny individual vanes with their barbs so intricately woven that light cast shadows and gave then depth.

I think what attracts me to this is the subtlety of color and texture.

Sometimes Nature shows us the beauty of our world by shouting through bright colors and dancing in manic movements like storm clouds or wind howling, or white caps on blue ocean waves. When I experience this I often feel like shouting with glee and letting the immense energy take me away to that place where I can sing out of key and jump and twirl and make sudden movements like a hip-hop dance until I dissolve into giggles and hiccups.

Other times Nature shows us the beauty of soft and subtle through the blending of continuous tones and hues using light and shadow. This photograph makes me think of moonlight and a breeze so gentle it is like the erotic brush of soft lips on my cheek and a whisper in my ear that I understand not through words but through some magical tingle of understanding. I can imagine I am light as air and wearing a gown of dark gossamer silk, spun from the spinnerets of the golden orb spider of Madagascar I have read about, and woven so finely that the weave itself is barely discernible. The feel of the silk on my skin as I sway and swoop and move my arms through the air takes my breath away and moves me almost to tears.

Nature entices me and it is an invitation I am pleased to accept. I love feeling connected to the world around me as it seems to mimic my life and my emotions and give me comfort and a small amount of understanding and release from the fear that sometimes overcomes me.