I'm mixing metaphors here but, on a recent walk, I was reminded of the Greek goddess Medusa. She had snakes for hair and the various tree roots, writhing around unseen obstacles, reminded me of snakes - or perhaps an octopus. Not that hair - or snakes or octopuses - would cling on so tenaciously to the hillside, I suppose. Yet, these trees do manage to cling on, miraculously, even though in places along the path you could see empty 'bowls' where a tree had obviously once been. The wonders of nature.
Also miraculous, the teeming life colonies on the fallen trees... Mosses and lichens fur the dead limbs; grasses, ivy and creepers curl through the branches that once reached for the sky. And who knows what woodland creatures, large and miscroscopic, find comfort and a home in the rotting wood.
Oh my…yes Medusa! Amazing! I love lichens and moss too. These woodlands are so important and a haven for all things nature.
ReplyDeleteLove the roots which cling and keep nurturing trees in spite of their leanings. And the lichen as well!
ReplyDeleteLove the Medusa connection.
ReplyDeleteThey are hanging on and their roots are fascinating.
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