River Birch

What do snakes, spiders, lizards, cicadas, crabs, dragonflies, humans, and birch trees all have in common? No, they are not ALL creepy – only most of them are. Yes, they are all organic things, but was looking for an answer a little deeper than that. Or actually more superficial. They all have outer layers that split, peel, and shed in order to make room for new growth.

That had always perplexed me. How could something bigger be enclosed within something smaller? It reminds me of the joke by comedian Steven Wright – “I’m going to get a tattoo over my whole body of me, but taller.”

Despite the confusing physics, I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing quite a bit of splitting and peeling over the holidays…

Words and images by Michael J. Hall unless otherwise noted