Single Mum

I pass this field almost every day and in fact, every year I look out over it at this time of year and remind myself to photograph the tree with the dark sky behind it contrasting against the gold. And every year I forget to go back, until today. And just in the nick of time as the farmer told me it's getting the chop tomorrow - the barley, not the tree!

I love trees; there's something so reliable, solid and dependable in a tree; something lasting; something that will outlive us all; something we can trust. This evening as I was basking in the fading sunlight glinting off the golden barley, I wondered about the tree and how deep her roots must be to hold her up in such an exposed spot. I felt an affinity with her, as a single mum holding fast in an often exposed place, without company or protection, relying on my roots to keep me in place so I can see the harvest of gold at the end of every season.

I love my children, even through every storm, and this photo is in honour of them.