Sign of Maturity

Today we went for a walk in our nearby woods.  There's been some recent tree-felling there and I've been enjoying the beauty of the wood left behind.  There's something so beautiful about the anatomy of a tree trunk.  All those lines, showing the maturity of the tree.  Lines - appreciated as something beautiful in a tree, but sadly, not usually very appreciated in ourselves.  

Today I had a delightful visit with some very good friends over lunch.  They have BOTH had (separate) accidents over Christmas and are hobbling around on crutches, needing quite a bit of support as they slowly recover.  We hadn't seen each other in a very long time and it was good to catch up at long last, even in less than ideal circumstances for them!  I am so grateful for being able to go off on all my lovely walks with Dolly (or on my own).  How rarely we consider the gift of our own mobility.  I am sure my friends will no longer take it for granted like most of us do!