Did you know that lab rats giggle when tickled?  Did you know that cows have 'best friends'?  Did you know that monkeys fake laughter with their fellow monkeys when their fellow monkey's chatter bores them?  Well...so much for the primitive notion that lesser creatures than humans are 'dumb'.  Only the most mean spirited and ignorant fail to notice how 'human' our animal cousins really are.  They laugh and play, love and mourn, rejoice and suffer.  We are soooo close.  But, what of plants?  This, and many other trees that are chosen to be photographed, are isolates.  They have had no choice.  They grow where their seeds take root.  Given the as yet undiscovered languages and society of animals, is there also an as yet undetected language and society of plants?  Do they have spirits that inhabit the ether and commune in ways we can't really imagine?   Our human ancestor's were animists and believed that spirits inhabited all living things plant and animal.  Were they right?  Did we lose that sense with the establishment of monotheistic religions?

I was driving to Jekyll Island when I noticed this lonely palm in the midst of a vast salt marsh.  I stopped and photographed it with a wide angle and telephoto lens.  This is the fruit of the latter that I otherwise rarely use (300mm on the Pentax 67).  As with many other lonely trees, I hope what I've imaginecd could exist and actually does, and this guy has buddies even though they aren't close.