Deployment 25: Barking up a more creative tree
Coralie, 2hr S of Sydney.
There are these trees you've probably seen a million times in your life but likely never considered in any depth. Their official name is scribbly gum, a title you imagine was chosen given their trunks often look like some toddler hopped up on too much red Cottee's got at the trunks with a scalpel masquerading as a pen. But the real story is way more interesting.
It just so happens that scrubbly gum drawing are actually the creative work of moths that live in the trees. And they're not just wham-bam thankyou ma'am scribbles, these. No, such unique features of the Aussie bush landscape tell the life history of the creatures that live within them.
Moths double over their pathways and they grow, leaving deep rivulets in the wood that become exposed once the bark cracks, like a hidden memoir, or an Egyptian tomb long buried beneath a pyramid. It's only when the moths become too big for their own trails and become caterpillars that they finally leave the tree.
We can learn something from our metamorphosing friends. When it comes to nature and its impact on our imaginations, the longer the exposure, the better. Scribbly bark wouldn't look nearly as good if those moth just hung out there for half an hour before changing shape. The reason the scribbles are so amazing are because of the time invested in making them a reality. Consider that next time you're at a loose end creatively.
Your answer could be hiding right there in the scribbly gum trees.
Coralie, 2hr from Sydney. Looking to get some mud on your boots and get out into nature? Find cabin availability near your city.”