Pine Tree Inflorescence
A collection of photomicrographs presented by Terry Lynch
Naturalist, Photographer, Journalist
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Southern pine tree inflorescence 32X as observed on the first day of Spring, 20 March, 2002.
With the first day of Spring there comes a grand inflorescence more grand perhaps than the most grand of vistas presented by the Grand Canyon in Arizona, a viewing of which I've witnessed on more than one occasion. Of course even the Grand Canyon is an entire ecosystem which stretches from the northern rim of an alpine forest to the deep river gorge carved by the Colorado River, then ascends to the hot, dry desert of the southern rim.
This 32X view of the inflorescence of a Southern Pine tree brings to mind such grand vistas, and one might imagine they are soaring high above a bracket fungus colored canyon while but peering down the tube of a microscope snapping digital images of the fleeting moment, for it will be an entire year before nature's clock presents again those images which come with the first warm days of Spring.
Tomorrow the blossoming of many flowers and trees will be gone, at least for the lower coastal planes of Alabama. One then must follow the progression of Spring traveling north or west to capture the blossoming of fields, meadows and mountain slopes.
Yet some people spend their entire lives never leaving their own backyards nor even looking through a microscope to witness that minute grandeur which is all around us. Many who preach the gospel of creation have yet to see a cell divide or be fertilized. Certainly the vast majority of theories of origin and the nature of our universe which predate the invention of the microscope and telescope, are but the products of man's imagination, of his dreams and pondering. Unable to see clearly and sharply the microscopic and the majestic, man conceived of God to explain his origins. Had he been given a microscope on Mount Sinai instead of stone tablets of prohibition, perhaps he would have perceived long ago the fallacies of his own superstition and genuine ignorance with respect to the origin of life and its evolution. But because humanity was blind to the wonders of both the microscopic universe and the distant universe through which our planet, Sun and solar system soar, gods came into being through man's imagination to explain our origin and creation of the universe.
What is revealed by those marvelous lens crafted instruments called microscopes and telescopes, is that we live finite lives in an infinite universe. Should you wish to be enlightened to the nature of our universe you will gleam more of truth by looking through a microscope at the infinitely small or a telescope at the infinitely large, than you ever will by reading in Holy Scripture.
Additional Photos Coming Soon!
If you are anxiously awaiting the arrival of more photographs, please be patient. Additional photos will be presented over time as interesting specimens are prepared and photographed. Please click on the links below to view additional photomicrographs and special natural history pages presented for your education, enlightenment and enjoyment. Thank you!
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Copyright © 2002 - 2003 by Terry Lynch. All Rights Reserved.