Cypress swamp in early spring

In mid-March, the snow is still blowing harsh around the dooryard here in Maine. In Alabama, that’s spring. My friend John Nicholson lives in Marion, AL, and I stopped to see him one March on my way to Mobile. He took me for an amble through a cypress swamp. The leaves were just budding out, and the light slanted through the trees.

Bald cypresses have knobby little outgrowths, called knees. These are unique woody structures that protrude from the roots, especially in swampy places. Their exact function isn’t known, but scientists think they help anchor the tree and provide oxygen to the waterlogged roots. To my northern eyes, they look exotic.

The other thing that’s interesting about cypresses is their lack of low-hanging branches, which means the architecture of this cypress swamp was all verticals crossed with diagonal shadows.