Regular Blog followers will be aware that I have an Empathy for Trees. I have been drawn to trees ever since I was in short pants, not sure why but suspect that it is the unique living being, the character that each tree, whatever its size and shape, brings to the landscape.
But it is those trees that are truly part of the natural landscape that have to impress the most. Take this Beech Tree as an example. It has to be over 100 years old, it was not planted by man but has grown from a seed that, by chance, became lodged in a crevice in this bolder field. No deep rich soil to sink its roots into for stability and nutrition. Instead its roots have had to claw there way over the gritstone rocks moulding to the very shape of the rock and digging deep into any crack to seek the vital water from the ground…….That’s Tenacity for you. Twisted as the roots are and tangled as many of its branches may be, the trunk is tall, stout and steady….to stand I hope for another 100 years.
(Just to give an rough idea of scale the big rock on which the Beech is straddled is about 14ft wide….and the root network spreads much, much further than that)
15th February
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