Inside The Sycamore

From the other side this sycamore looks solid and nearly invincible.  When walking around it you quickly discover there’s a gap at least 5 feet in length, exposing the inside of the tree.

Junco In The Snow

A Junco rests on a snowy branch while out foraging in the snow.  How such a small creature survives the winter never ceases to amaze me.  Does it wake on such a morning wishing it could sleep a little longer, rationalizing that later the snow will melt and its burdens will be just a little lighter?

Brown Anole On A Tree

My Grandmother used to call these brown anoles “tiny dinosaurs”.  It’s easy to see why.  I photographed this one on the side of a tree in Florida last winter.

Bare Tree In Big Meadow

A crow watches the field below from a barren tree in the Big Meadow area of Shenandoah National Park.

Pine At The Top Of The Hill

This pine stands alone near the top of a hill, in a meadow at Shenandoah National Park.

 

Red Bark

This tree stood along a trail I was hiking one morning.  I thought the vivid, rusty bark contrasting with the greens of the moss and pines made this an interesting study of color and texture.  The early morning shade provided the perfect soft, even light to produce the deeply saturated colors just as I remember seeing them.

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Golden Hour

It’s Lonely At The Top

This lonely tree grows on a rock outcropping in the Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone.  I photographed it one cloudy morning but the result was even, flat lighting, leaving the photo without much of a sense of perspective.  The next day I was lucky enough to return at just the right time.  The cliff face and tree were bathed in the warm, direct morning sunlight but the opposing canyon wall and the foreground elements were still in shadow.  As a result, the subject is literally highlighted.

Rat Snake Resting on a Branch

The Rat Snake is quite a capable climber.  This individual took to the trees when we met each other on a lakeside trail in Central Virginia.  It seemed to be just as happy making its way through the branches as it was winding across the forest floor.

Tri-Colored Pine Cone

I’m not much of a pine cone photographer (is there such a thing?) but the colors on this cone really caught my eye.  It grew from the branch of a fallen tree that was clearly still very much alive.

Tree Fallen in Water

This tree once stood tall and provided shelter and possibly food to many of its forest companions.  Seeing it laying, lifelessly in the water reminded me of the simple truth of mortality.  Not in a morbid or depressing way, just as an immutable law of nature.  Keeping that in mind, we should all live each moment to its fullest.