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Sunday, April 12, 2015

Silver Liningness Sunday

Greetings on another fine Sunday!  The weeks are a-flying by, it seems.

Times are busy, we're getting stuff done, but we've thankfully got time for a bit of recess.  Magnum, Meego, and I hit up some nature again yesterday at a nearby area I've been wanting to check out for a  while.

Fox Run Park is in Black Forest - in a part that didn't burn in the Black Forest fire of 2013.  It's heavily wooded and has a rather primal feel to it, I thought so anyway.  Very enjoyable afternoon!

 We came across several of these twisted trees among the straight up-and-down ones.  I have no idea why that happens.  Anyone?

This is what most of Black Forest is like, even where people live.  Floor thick with dead, dry pine needles among lots of trees.  It's not difficult to understand why it went up in flames so easily.



There are also some nice, more civilized areas, where people hold wedding receptions and other big gatherings.  Really a nice area.  I'm glad we finally made it out there.  All the guys had been out there once before for an orienteering event, but I don't know where I was - I think it was back when I used to often teach on Saturdays.

As we traipsed along, we also came across several benches dedicated to people who have passed on.  There were plaques on each, with quotes and names of the honorees.  Nice.  There was also a tree with similar dedications to beloved pooches.




This bench had a particularly nice view:



Anyway, it was really nice to take advantage of a little slack in the schedule.  No school extracurriculars, no P.E.O.  Just dirt and bark and stuff.




7 comments:

terri said...

What's gotten into Meego? He's actually posing with you! :-) Which made for a really nice mother-son photo!

I have no idea why the trees would grow crooked that way. If I had to guess, I'd say it was damaged in its younger days, but refused to die off.

Abby said...

In a strange twist of coincidence, there's a story in today's newspaper about those twisted trees! Maybe I'll elaborate later on. But yes, strange coincidences, kids posing - there's something very curious about those woods...

Rock Chef said...

I would guess that the twisted trees got partly uprooted when they were young and tried to correct themselves. Very interesting shape! A lot of trees over here fall over and then the branches grow upwards as new trunks, so a single tree might become 3 or 4. Love it!

ShadowRun300 said...

I'm going with RC's explanation. Sounds logical, and I have no other ideas.
You guys always seem to make the most of your weekends. I'm trying to follow in your footsteps, even if my weekends don't always fall on a Saturday/Sunday. I just wish we had a Fox Run Park nearby.
Great pics of Meego and you! What's gotten into him lately?

Ginny said...

Hmmm I do wonder what is up with those trees. I love coming across interesting trees when I hike

Riot Kitty said...

They're refusing to be straight - maybe going gaily forward? :)

agg79 said...

Good to get away from life for a while and enjoy the outdoors. I like the idea of the memorial benches along the trail. Nice way to honor a loved one's memory.

I agree with RC's hypothesis on how the twisted tree came to be. Despite set backs and challenges, life finds a way.