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Cherry Laurel
24 March 2022
We had no idea what this was when we ran across it recently. But Pl@ntNet.org identified it as a cherry laurel and that's good enough for us.
Cherry Laurel. Olympus E-PL1 with 14-42mm II R kit lens at 34mm (68mm equivalent), f5.1, 1/640 second and ISO 200. Preprocessed in DxO PureRaw 2 before processing Adobe Camera Raw with the Vintage color filter applied.
Laurels, you know, are the branches used to make laurel wreaths, those crowns of triumph worn by the victors. And the cherry laurel, as it happens, is native to the shores of the Black Sea, among other places.
Putting those two together, you could almost imagine this image as a political commentary. Of obscure meaning, since no wreath has been woven yet.
But we like that there are two blossoms in this photo.
While the fate of Ukraine remains unresolved, it's clear there has been uncommon courage on display both by Ukrainians defending their homeland and by Russians protesting the war.
Both populaces have been forced to emigrate, either to escape bombardment or imprisonment. A fate you would wish on no one.
It's the people, our old barber Paul used to say, who suffer in war. He had emigrated himself from Iran when it was still known as Persia. And in this image, the raindrops on both stalks (difficult as they are to detect in this thumbnail) could be mistaken for tears.
So let this image honor the courage on both sides that resist this aggression and destruction. The wreath may not yet have been woven for the victors but these heroes of resistance already deserve one.