I’ve often admired it but never taken part: a word+visual challenge by Patrick Jennings. The time is now.
Patrick posts his photo-and-word challenge weekly on his beautiful blog PIX TO WORDS. This week’s word is standout.
I don’t promise to do it every week but I can promise more than one word and sometimes more than one image. Such a maximalist.
Eucalyptus.
I have trouble spelling it
let alone ever imagining
to stand among them.In my mind they belong to that other world.
The one with those funny animals
where I’ll never live.But they do good here and do it well
draining the swamps of Tuscany.
They drink the water, amore says.Not much malaria in my country of origin.
Too much snow there.
Different kinds of drama.Therefore I’m impressed at their peeling trunks
when I discover them on my bike ride
and keep returning.They sing in the wind.
Each seems to be hiding if not a koala
then at least a boar. Bestia agrees.They stand out as it is
but yesterday I met
a particularly outstanding couple.
In response to Patrick Jennings’ Pic and a Word Challenge #142: Standout
Mexi Movie the Third (closed) 
Was there an aroma of eucalyptus? I wonder what makes the stripes? Is it just the natural peeling of the bark?
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No, Susanne, I have yet to catch a whiff of it. Their bark is peeling more or less whenever I pass, in all seasons. But from now on I’ll pay more attention to it to find interesting patterns.
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Nicely done! I’ve never thought eucalyptus looks like that.
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Ohh, Sunny Days, really? But you travel so much, I’d have thought you’ve come across them already. 🙂 I knew them only from books before encountering them here. Also, I believe amore when he calls them eucalyptus, maybe I should have it confirmed first. 😀 (But I’m quite certain he is right.) And thank you!
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Haha. I’m sure he is right. I’m not very good with identifying plants, something I need to improve in the life to come 🙂
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Wow! The bark is beautiful. I always though of eucalyptus as a low shrub, but then I’ve never walked among the koalas or boars. Maybe some day.
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Thank you, Maggie. 🙂 Well, koalas are wishful thinking, boars are a bit too close for comfort. These trees are quite magnificent, a surprise for me as well. Especially that they are here at all.
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A nice ode to a peculiar tree – we have them here in California. They do sing in the wind but they are very flammable.
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Thank you, Jan. Ohh, flammable! Over here they grow in the middle of the fields, close to the sea. Not much danger of a wildfire, I suppose.
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Mmmm… I can almost smell them, though, not all eucalyptus are so fragrant.
I’ve met these wonderful trees all over Australia and in southern California. Smell being such a trigger for memories, I find myself in two places at once.
They’re a tree like no other; even though they are ubiquitous in Aus, I never tired of them, always fascinated. Seven hundred or so species, all but 9 of them indigenous to Australia.
A wonderful first post to the challenge, Manja. Thank you, for the post, and for the wonderful notes on Pic and a Word and my blog.
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Oh, Patrick, thank you so much! I’m always grateful for the incentive. The next time I pass them, I’ll try to smell them too. 😀 For now I just don’t remember any scent from them at all. I’m glad that for you it works so well that it transports you to two places at once.
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Lovely poem and beautiful pictures. There is something rather exotic about a eucalyptus, but not in a crazy tropical way, if you know what I mean.
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I think I do. Its name is more exotic than its looks, and yet it seems far from home. 🙂 Thanks, Scooj!
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I love this post Manja. You’ve inspired me to do a tree post about eucalypts (yep it is funny word to spell). There are many kinds and some have really beautifully coloured bark. I’m glad you have some near you and that they aren’t a problem. In some countries they have become a nuisance. It’s good to think of them draining a swamp on the other side of the world.
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Most wonderful. Looking forward to the post!
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