Well, I said I'd do this post when I found the relevant photos, and after much searching - which has taken me months (if not years) - I've finally tracked them down. True to form, they were in completely different places, and I had to go through hundreds, if not thousands, of pics in order to find them. That's even harder than it sounds, because my photo wallets are scattered all around the house in whatever space I can fit them. Anyway, the fact that I'd intended to do this post over on the now defunct Crivens! won't hold me back. Isn't it lucky for you that I've got another blog, eh? (H'mm, gone kinda quiet all of a sudden.)
Of course, there's always the possibility that you'll think the result of my hunt wasn't worth the effort, but I'll take my chances. The above photo was snapped by me around 1986, and shows the remains of a tree that had taken a pounding. I think it was struck by lightning, and it's a shame I don't have a photo of the tree before its 'accident' as it was quite an impressive looking item. (Could be I do have a pic somewhere, but if so, I've forgotten ever taking it, never mind where it might be if I did.)
Anyway, I took the photo below sometime around the early or mid-'90s, and it shows the tree in its 'recovery stage'. It's not exactly as it was before it endured a kicking, but I thought it was a goner back then, so it was nice to see that it had survived - and thrived. There's a moral in there somewhere, eh? Let's just hope that council workies haven't chopped it down after it making such a magnificent comeback. I must take a walk along to the area and see if it's still there. I'll let you know. (Update: Yup, it's still standing.)
Just thought I'd start the comments-ball rolling by saying how wonderful I think I am.
ReplyDeleteSorry to interrupt this display of modesty with some tree anecdotes but here goes; I am a big fan of trees, not a tree-hugger mind you (never know what might be lurking under the bark!) but I feel their presence softens the unrelenting sprawl of concrete and man-made mess that is our urban environment. My wife and I make a point of walking in a park near us at least once a weekend to recharge the batteries of the inner being, for want of a better description! The photos also remind me of the progress of a tree that we planted in our garden, passed over the fence by a neighbor where it wasn't doing too well (his idea of gardening is to wield the poison spray and I think the tree was collateral damage) but it has grown and thrived in our garden to the point where he requested a cutting to try again in his. (Good luck with that, I thought).
ReplyDeleteI'm very proud of my modesty, PC - and famous for it too I might add. I must confess that I always feel very sad when I see a tree has been chopped down. And, even if one is replanted, it doesn't stand a chance because the wee hooligans that abound everywhere these days will have snapped it in half in no time. It's nice to think that your tree will have a 'clone' growing in the garden next to yours, eh? Let's wish him luck in the green fingers department.
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