OK, The Trees Finally Show Up!
I have never known if I was that much in love with trees before I read LotR (at the age of 10), or if there was a causal relationship. I know I can still remember the trees around the house I grew up in! And I love the Ents! Especially Quickbeam!
I also in recent years have become interested in stumps since learning about stump gardens/stumperies at one of the botanical gardens we visited. So now besides pictures of trees, I also take pictures of stumps!
Informational sign at the entrance to Lithia Park (Ashland, OR): it’s seriously amazing because it’s right off the main drag, and the paths go from a well landscapes and tended area into a more natural area (where they keep the paths clear but do not remove fallen trees, stumps, etc.). An incredible walk!
The next two pictures are of the same stump—one to get the whole of it, the other a closeup of the roots. This stump has *character*!
A very different kind of stump, providing a cozy space for some small creature to snooze in when the big stompy humans aren’t infesting the path!
Clearly, a stump hanging out with their Bounder Buddies at the Stream! I’d have loved to have joined them (but we had a play to attend after lunch).
This was the as we were exiting the park (the same place we entered)—just gorgeous. I’m pretty happy with the effect I managed to get here.
Cornwall is a five minute drive away from where we live (or a fifteen minute walk [depending on the traffic lights on one of the busier streets in Bellingham]), and it’s an absolute gem. Sixty-five acres with amenities, but large parts left natural (clearing of paths but the fallen trees are just moved off the path).
