“Ceye ate the new grasses and became sick,” Tski tells me. “I am sorry that Ceye has died,” I say, and the implant moments later returns that in Tski’s own language. After a while it speaks, a complex series of whistles, clicks, and trills, that my implant decodes for me. It stands atop nine legs-it lost three in an accident, it told me once-that are fine, graceful arcs that end in three pieces that can come together as a sharp, dangerous point, or open to function like fingers. Tski sees me, and turns toward me-the Ofti don’t have heads, per se, with all the functions we think of as specific to heads integrated in with the rest of their singular, horizontal lump of a body the same color as the leaves above. I find Tski tending to the fire as one of the nest balls, carefully extricated from its perch in the trees above and set upon stones, crackles and hisses in flame. I can see the large stick-ball nests up in the canopy above, fewer with each visit, and I can smell smoke. The small valley has a river that winds through it, and I cross a bridge made of carefully placed stones to the far side. There have been days I have spent hours staring at them, or at our archived 3-D images, and always there is that sense that some vast understanding of the meaning of being is just there, in the lines, waiting for me to finally understand.įrom here, I can see signs the trees are dying. Among them there are flashes of bright color, vibrant pigments carefully etched into shallow scratches in the trunks forming intricate, hypnotic patterns, no two the same, none less compelling than the others. Mathematically, structurally, the trees are beautiful as they are naturally. Each one is capable, if broken free, of starting a new tree by itself, but together they each serve different functions, observed to change over time as both external conditions and each cell’s internal position in the whole changes. Cut a tree open, though, and you find neither rings nor wood at all, but hexagonal cells all tucked neatly together, larger the closer to the center they are. Their leaves are wide, gold-green, open cones, grouped in threes at the end of each stem, which catch and hold rain for a long while after a storm. The trees here are, outwardly, very similar to the trees of home, except for their smooth exteriors and symmetrical branching. I know how soft they would be under my bare feet, how they would tickle, but also how easily they will crush and die, and though I know I will surely give into temptation one last time before they are gone forever, this time I keep to the stones. ![]() The vegetation changes around me as I walk, from the familiar sharp-bladed grasses that have crept over the wall and seeded themselves along its perimeter, to the tiny, delicate frills of blue-green of the grass that first grew here, now in forced retreat. The path curves over a small slope and then down a kilometer or so to the glade at the edge of a forest. And then I walk down the path to find the painter of trees. I wash my body from the same basin, shivering from the shock of the cold, before I remove the plain linen cloth from its hook above the rack and wrap it around myself. There is no one on this side of the wall to see who would take either advantage or offense at my nakedness. When the doors have closed and sealed again, I remove my clothes. I remove my boots at the threshold and set them on a rack for that purpose, then carefully wash my feet from the basin of rainwater, still chill from the night before. If the product is too large or restricted in your state, you will not be able to checkout with that item in your cart.I go down to the gate, swipe my security pass, and step through the ten-meter tall, still-opening doors into the last of the wild lands. Enter your shipping zip code at the top of this page and be sure to check the shipping information on each product before you add it to your cart. Some varieties are exceptions due to heat and plant health reasons. Spring Shipping: Region Start Date (above) - Mayĭue to unpredictable weather, these times may vary. Local Delivery (small radius from Waterloo, WI): April 22nd - November 7th Southern Region: March 15th - November 7th Northern Region: April 15th - November 7th ![]() Northern Cold Region: April 22nd - November 7th Therefore, we cannot guarantee any of these times. Due to unpredictable weather, staffing, inventory and industry demands these timelines can change. Keep in mind the dates below act as a general guide. ![]() For example, small fruits are only shipped in spring, but majority of our perennials are shipped from spring until fall. Our FedEx and local shipping times depend on two factors, one is by the region and the second is the type of product being shipped.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |