Under the forest canopy
Many have read Shel Silverstein’s book The Giving Tree about that altruistic tree that gave and gave to a selfish, little boy until there was nothing left to give. I think of that sad tale sometimes when walking in the forest and see a very different story with a more satisfying ending. Rather than sacrificing themselves for others, trees are doing their best to survive and flourish. Luckily, byproducts of their efforts benefit animals, birds, insects, plants, fungi, humans, and even one another.
Sometimes when two trees grow into one another, the bark is worn away exposing the cambium layer. When they heal, the two trees are fused together in what is known as inosculation (from Latin ‘osculari’ for ‘kiss'). We could learn a lot from these kissing trees about facing adversity and getting along.
Even in the middle of a busy week, I feel like I'm on vacation when I take a walk in the woods. Every step there is something different to see in the diversity of an unplanned forest where only the laws of nature apply. Trees continue to give throughout their lives and long after they have died eventually becoming part of the soil itself.
These photos show some of the ways that trees are benefiting their neighbors.
Sometimes when two trees grow into one another, the bark is worn away exposing the cambium layer. When they heal, the two trees are fused together in what is known as inosculation (from Latin ‘osculari’ for ‘kiss'). We could learn a lot from these kissing trees about facing adversity and getting along.
Even in the middle of a busy week, I feel like I'm on vacation when I take a walk in the woods. Every step there is something different to see in the diversity of an unplanned forest where only the laws of nature apply. Trees continue to give throughout their lives and long after they have died eventually becoming part of the soil itself.
These photos show some of the ways that trees are benefiting their neighbors.
The fallen part on the left looks like 'rabbitat' to quote forester Dode Gladders. The still standing part of the trunk on the right is gradually eroding into the soil.
Kissing Maple Trees on the Brookside Park Trail
A beaver dam on Blackberry Way in the Sawyer Brook Headwaters seen on a hike led by Dave Wood of the Grantham Conservation Commission.
A pileated woodpecker's morning work on a tree on Butternut Trail
A convenient place of safety for a skittish bear cub
