As long as I can remember, I have loved old trees. Living history standing. This time of year they are particularly striking against a winter sky. I took as many photos of old trees on our walk today as I did of
stonewalls. In this first picture, Zoo Boy is convinced that an owl must live in this old tree.
The crown of the same tree in the above photo. While it's proximity to the road makes it unlikely that an owl actually lives there, I'm sure this old oak has seen it's share of animal residents -- and human passersby -- in it's day.
An old apple tree at the edge of an abandoned pasture. We've passed this tree many times and I've never paid it any heed. Today it immediately caught my eye, it's dark silhouette contrasting with the brilliant white snow around it, and called out for me to take it's portrait. I will make note of this old tree this spring, and watch to see if it has enough life left to open a few buds, or if it's fate is to remain a skeleton at the woods' edge, a haunting reminder of days gone by.
There is nothing more magnificent to me, regardless of the season, than a mighty Sugar Maple. This old gal is missing a few of her limbs, but she still cuts a bold figure against a pale sky. I never did get a good picture of her this fall in her autumn finery, but now I think it's because she was waiting until winter to strike her most dazzling pose.
Here's an old apple tree that is well past it's time. I'll be curious to see how much longer it remains standing, I can't believe it will be here for many more years, and I wonder how many it had been standing strong and proud before landing in this state. For the most part it is devoid of branches, and those few that remain certainly are no longer bearing leaves even during the gentlest of weather. It's surely been many years since it produced any fruit. Yet there's still life within, as evidenced by the holes woodpeckers leave in pursuit of the insects the tree now harbors.
As long as I can remember, I have loved old trees. Living history standing. This time of year they are particularly striking against a winter sky. I took as many photos of old trees on our walk today as I did of stonewalls. In this first picture, Zoo Boy is convinced that an owl must live in this old tree.
The crown of the same tree in the above photo. While it's proximity to the road makes it unlikely that an owl actually lives there, I'm sure this old oak has seen it's share of animal residents -- and human passersby -- in it's day.
An old apple tree at the edge of an abandoned pasture. We've passed this tree many times and I've never paid it any heed. Today it immediately caught my eye, it's dark silhouette contrasting with the brilliant white snow around it, and called out for me to take it's portrait. I will make note of this old tree this spring, and watch to see if it has enough life left to open a few buds, or if it's fate is to remain a skeleton at the woods' edge, a haunting reminder of days gone by.
There is nothing more magnificent to me, regardless of the season, than a mighty Sugar Maple. This old gal is missing a few of her limbs, but she still cuts a bold figure against a pale sky. I never did get a good picture of her this fall in her autumn finery, but now I think it's because she was waiting until winter to strike her most dazzling pose.
Here's an old apple tree that is well past it's time. I'll be curious to see how much longer it remains standing, I can't believe it will be here for many more years, and I wonder how many it had been standing strong and proud before landing in this state. For the most part it is devoid of branches, and those few that remain certainly are no longer bearing leaves even during the gentlest of weather. It's surely been many years since it produced any fruit. Yet there's still life within, as evidenced by the holes woodpeckers leave in pursuit of the insects the tree now harbors.
1 comment:
so beautiful! i'm with you on old trees, all trees, actually, especially in winter. i find the starkness, the emptyness, the contrast of bark to background so moving!
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