In nature, nothing is perfect

We woke up to a very misty, moisty world this morning, so I took my camera outside with me into the back garden when I went to fill up the bird feeders. They are hung on our wonderful Corylus avellana 'Contorta' tree, aka corkscrew or contorted hazel. 

I love the twisted branches of this tree, which we planted as a specimen tree over twenty five years ago when we moved in and had the garden re-designed. It is directly in front of me when I stand in the kitchen doing the dishes, and I love watching the birds darting about on the branches in winter. Later on, when it's in full leaf, you can't see the contorted branches, which is a shame, but they give me such pleasure during winter months. Oh, and you can just see the faint outline of a pink "Blessings" bloom in the rose garden behind the hazel. We chose to plant four quadrants of Blessings roses because we moved into the house at the time of our silver wedding anniversary. Inside the Blessings roses is a ring of white "Silver Anniversary" roses – of course!

"In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful." – Alice Walker


[NB I really hate it when I find a quotation I like on the internet, but I can't find a single reference to the work from which it comes. I've trawled through Alice Walker's own website as well, to no avail.]