I took this picture of a tree with lichens hanging from it over the weekend. It’s almost as if there were leaves on it. It stands next to a river up in the high hills. It’s quite a way from any road and more than 20 miles from the nearest busy road. So the air is clean which means the lichens can grow in a healthy state. They are often used as indicators of clean air.
Finding this tree was such a magical experience and I sat on a rock with the sound of the river falling over a small waterfall just looking at the tree. It made the long walk up to the high ground more than worthwhile. Although this is wild and beautiful place, I sat for over an hour without seeing another human. Further down, on the way back, I exchanged greetings with a couple of hikers. Then no-one else until I was nearly back to the road. I’ve never been one for hiking for the sake of it. But being able to get to such places makes the effort of hiking so worthwhile.
Gorgeous! The shape of tree is wonderful...it has great "bones". It's the best when you can be in nature without seeing hardly any humans around.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, the giant Live Oaks there were dripping with lichens. I think it was a Usnea species. It had a wonderfully, sweet and earthy scent.
Lovely tree, and the place it's in sounds idyllic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about hiking. It's great to walk to places like that but tramping off for the sake of it is just exercise.