Nature Observation 3: The art of Vines

On November 14th on one chilly afternoon, while walking around campus I found a beautiful art piece where I had never seen one before. When thinking of nature I tend to look for it in only places I think it would occupy, especially in a place littered with buildings. Before this moment, I never have really appreciated the act of nature weaseling its way in everywhere, and how it can make something as mundane as our concrete monstrosities beautiful. Today I saw a mural created just by vines:

From the ground they rose, reaching, and climbing up and up. They never stop, weaving in and out of each other, but always reaching up. They climb and grow, sprouting leaves, as they go, never fearing to cover the remnants of others. Green intermixes with brown on the side of a concrete wall; creating nature’s own type of decorations for mans intrusions. The vines create a lattice on the wall, the bottom covered with fresh young new vines just starting their long journey up, while the top has old withered vines that have reached as high as they can.

Near the bottom, green leaves extend out from the wall with their pointed tips reaching for the late afternoon sun. They create a light curtain for the wall with barley any concrete showing through. The green contrasts with the brown and grey and shines bright in the sunshine creating their own little spotlight on the mural. They branch from thin vines, and vary in size, yet their lives are in a precarious position. Winter is coming and with the cold, new leaves will probably stop sprouting; those left alive are simply clinging to life, trying there hardest to keep surviving. They do not back down though for they know their role in this piece is quite important.

Above these young leaves clinging to the last rays of fall, are vines that foreshadow what they are to become. They are thick and brown, rough all around, knotted with time. They have reached up and around, sprouted down and through, each creating their own path along the wall and each other, making a complicated design belonging only to nature. They sometimes fray into smaller pieces creating their own new ways, other times many come together creating a thicker stroke on the canvas. They bend and curve never quite straight, but always reaching for their final destination.

Together the young and old vines continue their journey, up and onward fighting to survive, yet even when they are gone they leave something behind. They create an ever-transforming vision upon the wall, taking something so plain and ugly and reminding the world beauty can be found in all.

Moudy covered in vines