Cypress Knees. Because.

Cypress trees grow in marshlands and swamps. They make the most amazing pieces of furniture… Furniture I will never own; will never afford. take this table for example:

http://www.thomsonrusticfurnishings.com sells this lovely functional piece of cypress tree art:

 

Below I’ve put a picture of cypress ‘knees’ as they appear in a swamp… (What are cypress knees? The cone-shaped exposed growths on the buttress roots of bald cypress trees; which grow upward in swamps and such.) I love the term. roots that grow UP.

People sell varnished cypress knees.

                    Cypress is a beautiful wood, and the cypress “knees” are sometimes lopped off and refinished. Check these out (on sale at the below link):

monroe-la.americanlisted.com

         CHINESE OKRA

What’s so great about it?

Well, there’s this:

When the Chinese okra is allowed to dry and mature on the vine, VOILA! It turns into the loofah sponge used in baths and showers worldwide:

But where am I going with this blog?

Nowhere at all. I was just reading about the Dalai Lama. He was saying how it is very hard to convince people that happiness comes from within one’s self, and not from someplace else. A stinky cypress knee in a dark scary gator infested swamp is a beautiful thing. A neglected over-ripe okra dying on the vine is a useful thing. See? It’s a stretch, but it’s what I was going for. You see, sometimes it’s hard to have faith.

Some more Dalai wisdom: (quoted from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/27/dalai-lama-lessons-_n_4858859.html?utm_hp_ref=tw)

“The pursuit of materialism — external wealth — derails our pursuit of inner wholeness — internal wealth. His Holiness knows monks who live in the most spartan of conditions, surrounded by the barest of necessities and yet they are happy. He also knows many of the world’s richest people who are financially able to surround themselves with every trapping that money can buy. And they are some of the loneliest people he knows.” end quote

Cypress knees. Because.