Bye Bye Trees?

I'm going to be saying goodbye to some old friends later today.

The first shot is of two pines, one is completely dead and the other is getting there. Both have been the gateway to drive through after coming down the long driveway. They have been here forever and I'll probably miss them.

I won't miss wondering about which way they will fall in a windstorm though. They do get to Hula Dancing in harsh winter winds.

The shot from the other day is one of the pines.

Sorry for the repeat as I didn't know this tree would be cut down today. 

The trees have entertained us for a long time with all sorts of Woodpeckers visiting. The Pileated Woodpeckers were the most fun to watch! They are so huge.

This view is from the West facing bedroom window upstairs. 

The trees are so tall and have survived so many wind storms. They have root rot and cracks at their bases along with holes where Woodpeckers have drilled for insects.

Last weekend, another one of these trees had its top broken off by a storm less than a 50 yards from these two.

These trees have hung my laundry for ages. I will miss their shade and amazing blooms in the spring.

Maybe I'll think about planting a small bush in its place. I don't want to see it go, but I don't wish for it to come crashing down on the house either.

 

This shot is from 2006 when we allowed our very pregnant donkey to roam the yard and she sought shade under my laundry. I had to rewash everything, but it was pretty funny at the time.

I will miss the sweet smelling blossoms these trees put out each spring near my birthday....

However, as much as I admire them, my pals have to go. There used to be another one not far from where the Subaru is parked. One afternoon it just tipped over and landed in that parking spot.

I wasn't parked there as it was not really a parking spot until I had the driveway redone last year.

The next shot is a photo from 2013 after a 3" rain deluge and high winds. That WAS the garage. 

I'm also hoping the clean up of that crushed building will be in my list of projects in the next year or so.

Lastly, a photo from 2007 after the most devastating storm we've had in all the years we lived here. It took over 4 months of constantly sawing, piling, and burning to clean the yard up.

Shots of the day after the storm and a month later. 

It took another year to clean up most of the mess in the forest around us.

So there it is. It should be a spectacle today to watch.

Trees trees trees...

In years past, I've always concentrated on what is below the trees. For some reason this past year, I've been looking at trees with more interest.
I still adore fungi, moss, and bugs but right now there are none of those things available to look at under the snow.

The skies have been overcast and dull or it has been bright as all get out! 

Birch Trees 

edited to look artsy

Boxelder
seriously...
I wasn't smoking anything!

I found myself looking for objects that lend themselves to almost an abstract and artistic flair.

If nothing else, it is fun to hike our deep woods to find something interesting. I need to figure out what these trees are. They hang on to little orange leaves. They catch my eye while walking on the deer trails.

I used a ribbon that was attached to a deflated Mylar balloon I found to one of these trees so I can try and ID this tree type in the spring.

Snow storm!

The view across the neighbor's meadow to the east. 

Super duper zoom in

on a crooked tree branch

A friend of mine said it looked like neural brain synapses...
Hmmm, my brain was just enjoying the snowfall.

Another view of the same 

branch...
Amazing how a different shot and color edits

can make it look:

I thought of Aurora when I found this tree---> pointing down. 

Sorry it is such a poor photo, with the snow fall I had a hard time getting any proper exposure against the snowy sky.

However it is one awesome -cool -bizarre -wild cherry tree. I know last summer I never saw what it looked like up in the branches.

This bizarro tree lives near my favorite boxelder and the smushed face tree I spotted last June:

That makes 4 favorite odd and strange trees in one small area.

Winter is a good time to examine branches and shapes. I found some other wicked and strange trees on my walk around the meadow in yesterday's snowfall. 

Man Eating Tree?

*Edit 3 10 2022: Old Hawthorn Tree*

I'm enjoying the bare bones of the trees in the forest around me...but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the forest and all of its glorious colors.

After all, trees rule the land around us.