January 22, 2025
Many things seem overwhelming by way of being ominously large. Fires and floods are massive in their scale and destructive force. The climate is beyond massive. Politics seem a world and universe beyond, obtuse but also pervasive in our lives.
With so much largeness around, can we find comfort in small things? The complex beauty of one square foot of the forest floor or meadow. The color, patterns, and texture of rocks. Any given snowflake.
This blog is a simple tribute to small things. After all, it is a bunch of small things that compose the big ones. And small things have a courageous beauty, a fighting spirit, and a teeny-tiny voice that whispers the truth.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
Key
All photos by D. Hirschman
(1) Contrasts: rocks & lichen, hoarfrost at Mountain Lake, VA
(2) Something About Circles: rock, fungus, tiles at the Alhambra, Grenada, Spain
(3) Tundra: Small glimpses of landscapes formed by glaciers along the Chitina River in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park
(4) Connections: Somehow these Osage Oranges fell in a line in the water. The stalactite and stalagmite have been reaching for each other for thousands of years in the Luray Caverns. Surely, they will meet one day!
(5) Stairs: Your choice — go up or down. Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple, Narita, Japan; Mt. LeConte Alum Cave Trail, Great Smokey Mountain National Park; Capileira, Spain
(6) Capturing Water — Or At Least Trying To: Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple, Narita, Japan; Washington, D.C.; my yard
(7) Refuge: We all need a place like this from time-to-time
David J. Hirschman, [email protected]