Wednesday 9 January 2008

Fat tree, small man - # 348

I imagine that this oak tree could be 400 yrs old. It looks as if its top has been taken for wood (to build a battleship?) or knocked off in a storm, and the crown has grown back on the massive base. Incidentally, Winter 2006/07 and the Spring of 07 were, it seems, ideal for oak trees. All over my garden young oaks have sprung up from acorns planted by the squirrels. I have never before noticed so many popping up.

8 comments:

  1. What a great tree! It seems to have it's own personality.

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  2. That is a beautiful tree and it only took 400 years to look that way. :-)

    I wish we could all look so good (or alive) at 400.

    Awesome photo. I notice a huge shift in your photos lately. They are much more interesting (not that the old ones weren't) and absolutely stunning.

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  3. I don't think I will ever tire of pictures of trees. They are truly amazing organisms; non-thinking, yet seemingly highly intelligent in their survival, coping, and reproduction strategies. Indeed, looking at the branches of this oak reminds me of an image of the brain, which I have been able to find here:

    http://www.bodyworlds.com/download/pressimages/previews/1152652945.jpg

    ps - another link between the brain and trees is the term 'dendrite', which is actually Greek for 'tree'.

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  4. That little man looks so lonely and forlorn (even though he is wearing red).
    It kinda does look like a brain, doesn't it?
    Your oaks remind me of our river red gums - hoary old buggers (I've used that term elsewhere this week to describe fossilized shells, but it seems perfectly apt here too).

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  5. Wow - stunning photo!! the tree looks like it is upside down - the top looks like the roots.

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  6. Amazing tree! I also wonder what the roots may look like after some 400 years? Widely spread, deep...?

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  7. What a great tree - the photo is just 'made' with the red-clad figure. Love the title too. Superb.

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  8. It's a great character of a tree, and a nice composition. However I feel sorry for your squirrels, squirreling away some acorns only to come back and find a bloody great tree....

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