The Greying by Nature

As things weather over time, they obtain more and more character, and often turn grey. The façade of this mountain cabin pictured below is streaked with dark lines where the wood has darkened. At the base where the snow sits for a long time, the wood is actually turning grey. The exterior wall of this cabin is showing signs of age and weathering but the warm color is still mostly there. This is a great study for rustic pine wood paneling. It occurs to me that as we age we obtain more and more grey hair, too.

Photo by Heidi Hoffer. All Rights Reserved.

 Now this wood pictured below is at a regular old mine site and has been sitting in the snow year after year since the 1930’s at least, and is much more grey. It is also much thrown about from the forces of nature and deterioration. Man-made structures like the cabin and the mine building eventually give way to mother nature and decompose back into the land. Sometimes this is seen as a bad thing, and people try to keep structures alive for a while because of the very fine memories they housed or caused.

Photo by Heidi Hoffer. All Rights Reserved.

 Mother nature, however, also makes even live trees dead at some point, and during their decomposition, the same fine shades of grey can be seen. This swirly mass of grey wood once belonged to a fir tree. One can almost see animal shapes in the grey swirls. Even in decay, the tree presents a kind of beauty. 

Photo by Heidi Hoffer. All Rights Reserved.

 The very mountains age using grey colors. The agents of ageing can be beautiful things like trees and bushes, but their roots seek moisture and nourishment by digging into cracks, popping apart rock into smaller rocks. Snows and winds have their diary, too, leaving traces of their language in the form of scree, slabs and boulders thrown off the mountain, all in grey.

Photo by Heidi Hoffer. All Rights Reserved.