Knots in Weathered Siding

     Wood knots share their name with knots in rope for good reasons. Knots are not easy to untie, and wood knots particularly tend to be that portion of the wood with greatest density around which the rest of the wood has to migrate.
It is dehydrated artery and vein of the tree seen in cross section.
Weathered wood from abandoned houses provide inspiration, and reflection on our history and our past, but they also conjure up the analogies of knots in our souls, knots in our relationships, knots tied too loosely, and knots tied too tightly.
As with the tree, our knot should not only be a tie, but also a confluence of nutrients, a path to flowing saps that will determine it strength, continued growth, and contain a template of past years.

     

Because this knot was taken from the siding of an old house near Waterville  off Highway 2, that had long been abandoned, and the house in total disrepair, I couldn't help but think of history, and why we cannot see that our history, what our ancestors, both Native American and European invaders who lived here, had to endure ( before cell phones (-: )and the lifestyles necessary for their survival, 

And yet a knot still exists, larger and more complex than ever, but it is there, part of an even greater knot, or web as knots are hard to untie.  

Likewise the knots in our mind, those harder transfer points of mind, soul, and body.  Here, knots can cause problems, they need to be carefully monitored as not too tight, or too lose.

Families must work with these knot networks to make sure the flow is even, not crusted, and lubricated from time to time, as oil, on a wood knot will help preserve it as well.

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