The Holey Tree
I don't know who's set up house in this tree. The next time I'm here, I'll bang my paddle on the trunk and see if anyone is home.
Massive Buttress
Note the furled fluting on the right side of the base. This can be replicated in a bonsai pot using carving tools.
Half Dead
One of many trees which are half-dead. In this case, it's the right half. As this tree has matured and endured, it has developed several flat-top pads at the top. The deadwood on the right side of the tree is slowly collapsing as living tissues continue to grow and expand on the left. These conditions combine to give the tree its distinct tilt.
Root-Over-Rot
A tupelo tree grow over a decaying stump. As the wood decays, the tupelo's roots become more exposed.
Gnarled Top
When the top of a bald cypress grows horizontal rather than vertical the branch lines become chaotic. Horizontal growth is encouraged in this case by severe damage from some long-ago storm.
The Cradle
All that remains of an ancient bald cypress is a hollow husk. A new tree grows within the old.
Fire Damage
Fire scars line the inside of the ancient husk.
High Water
This swamp is part of a wide watershed for the Blind River. Recent heavy rains have flooded the area and will take weeks to drain. Bald cypress and tupelo trees are masters of survival in this environment.
Hollow Sentinels
This area was clear-cut by loggers 100 years ago. The only trees older than the logging days were the ones not worth harvesting. These survivors are often hollow. Being commercially worthless allows us to wonder at the beauty we've lost.
No Passage
Natural waterways snake their way through the Blind River watershed. The many knees of this bald cypress marked the end of the trail for my kayak.
Changing Light
The Winter sun is low on the horizon giving a golden glow long before sunset. The ancient tree, left of middle, is still growing on the far side, away from the viewer. It and others make for a beautiful vista.
More Dead Than Alive
From this side, the tree appears to be dead with younger trees growing behind it. Yet the growth is its own.
Life and Decay
The tree is hollow and open in several places where light shines through the tree's center.
Tupelo Top
The swamp is a harsh environment for all trees.
Middle Age Approaching
This is the shape of a tree with relatively few scars. Its top is beginning the tree's transition from upward growth. Note the massive first branch on the lower left.
Flat-Top Chaos
Branches snake in all directions when there is little to no competition for light.
Contorted Tupelo
This tupelo has lead a twisted life.
The End Of Youth
Young bald cypress grow upwards and have shapes that are similar to many other deciduous trees. The rounded canopy of this tree is slowly going away on the left as the tree matures. The upcoming decades will show the tree losing more of its lower branches as the top of the tree begins to spread wide and steal the light.
Moss Moss and More Moss
In the middle of a Southern Winter, green has given way to gray. Spanish moss grows everywhere. The color comes from fine hairs on the moss while beneath the gray, the moss is green and alive.
Last Light
This ancient tree is a landmark to local boaters that the boat launch is just around the bend. Here, the tree and it's surroundings is bathed in the red light of dusk.
An Old Wound
Where this tree should have a top, a hurricane has left only a large wound.
Twilight
My January tour of the Blind River comes to a close.
