tree graffiti

These modern arborglyphs or tree carvings were found on a nearby forest walk recently. To some they are considered vandalism, to some a form of art or expression. Whichever, they caught my eye as I walked through the woods and I felt compelled to take out my camera.

bottle trees

I've always been fascinated by bottle trees. I've seen them occasionally on the back roads off the beaten path in my travels around the South.

In Africa and ancient Arabia people would place bottle trees outside their homes to trap evil spirits. The spirits couldn't resist the lure of the beautiful bottles as the sun shone through them. They would enter the bottles and become trapped. Blue bottles were believed to be the most powerful in trapping the spirits. The idea of bottle trees spread to Europe and eventually to North America by way of African slaves.

To make a bottle tree you strip off the leaves and most of its branches then bottles are placed over the remaining branches. 

More photos: http://www.felderrushing.net/BottleTreeImagess.htm