Shaped by the Elements

Here is something that really caught my attention. While at the Ladies View overlook near Killarney, I wandered a side path going back to our car. This old tree, all bent and twisted had a story to tell. The long, horizontal limb is large enough to be several decades old. Yet, at one point in time it reached out sideways to escape whatever was shading it, and then stretched upward to reach for sunlight. Trees are smart that way. Upheaved rocks and an angled trunk speak of past trauma. The winter winds can be fierce here. Despite whatever happened, this old tree survives - although looking worse for wear. It is too deformed to interest the sawmill, which desires tall, straight wood. So I suspect it will continue to exist in peace, thankful for its deformities that grant it a pass from interests of loggers. The dignity of old age is a concept I relate to.

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Filename: Shaped by the Elements_1100031.JPG
Copyright: Copyright © Steve Simmer
Image Size: 3677x2458 / 4.9MB; Ireland 2022
Contained in galleries: Ireland, Scotland, England

Here is something that really caught my attention. While at the Ladies View overlook near Killarney, I wandered a side path going back to our car. This old tree, all bent and twisted had a story to tell. The long, horizontal limb is large enough to be several decades old. Yet, at one point in time it reached out sideways to escape whatever was shading it, and then stretched upward to reach for sunlight. Trees are smart that way. Upheaved rocks and an angled trunk speak of past trauma. The winter winds can be fierce here. Despite whatever happened, this old tree survives - although looking worse for wear. It is too deformed to interest the sawmill, which desires tall, straight wood. So I suspect it will continue to exist in peace, thankful for its deformities that grant it a pass from interests of loggers. The dignity of old age is a concept I relate to.