While I was writing my posts about flowers the past few days, I realized I've been passing up very many interesting things. I like looking at and writing about animals and now flowers and other plants, but there are other related things out there too.This tree, while it obviously is still a plant, is also something else. It is or was the home of some sort of animal. I've never seen the animal so I'm guessing that this animal home has been long ago abandoned. That doesn't mean it's not interesting though.
This tree has actually inspired two of my fiction stories. The first one was The Little Green Man. This is the tree that the little man jumped into in that story. There is even a snowy picture of the same tree there with the story. Also, without this tree there would be no famous Mr. Nutz. It inspired the story of The Squirrel Strikes Back, the first appearance starring that rascally little squirrel.
So this tree is quite well known to me and also to many of you. Now you know it a little better. This is a good example of how the things around us can stir our minds and inspire our imaginations. I'm sure you have similar objects of your own.I see this tree every few days. I walk right by it on a nature trail I frequently travel. How many other things do I walk by that I don't stop to look at? Probably too many to count. A tree like this one can be very valuable in ways that we don't consciously think about.
This tree has become one of my best friends, and I didn't even realize it until now. Do you have an object like this that has become a friend or an inspiration of some kind? What is it? What has it done for you?
What an incredible tree. We have many beautiful trees in our forest and I too walk by them sometimes without even noticing.
ReplyDeleteI think my inspiration lately has been the clouds and their ever changing appearance.
What a beautiful post.
Nice post, I had a favorite tree that I wrote about in my blog www.wildramblings.com , the story was entitled "A Once Mighty Tree". That particular sugar maple made memories that will never be forgotten by me.
ReplyDeleteThe trees passing was a sad and momentous occassion for our family.
Thanks for a nice post.
Bill;www.wildramblings.com
That's an incredible tree with so much history!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, we tend to walk right by things without noticing them..
I like to think my best friend is a crow. I love crows. Every once in a while I see one looking right at me, sort of greeting me in a way. I might hear one calling all of a sudden (who could not hear that?) and I will stop and watch him whatever he is doing. I like to think that it's the same one following me about. My little corvid buddy checking in to see how I've been.
ReplyDeleteI've forgotten for a large portion of my adult life how I loved birds as a kid. I used to read about them all the time. I don't know what it is about crows, but the jet black almost iridescent feathers, the (sometimes huge) wingspan as they glide efficiently through a forest. Their important job as scavengers and seemingly bountiful intelligence. My best friend is definitely the crow!
I am reminded today of how much more I want to know about them. Thank you!
It's amazing the things you notice when you slow down and take the time to really SEE everything that is around you.
ReplyDeleteI think my best friend are peacocks.. with occasionally visit of cats and kittens :)
ReplyDeleteI have many critters that have become my good friends, be it a tree, a rock or a crab etc. Anyhow Cerok Tokun is my best friend. I meet her every weekend.
ReplyDeleteHello Ratty! it's my first time here, and glad that I dropped by. The story about the tree sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteBy the way the 2nd pic made me see a silhouette of a gaping human face wearing shades, on the tree, a few feet above the ground! =D It might be an optical illusion caused by its bark I think.
And ya, nature offers myriads of surprises. Only the lucky and the curious will stumble upon them.
It is amazing all the simple pleasures of nature we pass daily without noticing. My moon garden at the Botanical Gardens is my spot. It always shows me peace and gives me inspiration. Great photo by the way.
ReplyDeleteHey! I think I can get inside and take some rest..It's like alil house. :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the story of the tree ratty. i think you are right in that the tree is just as important as the animals or flowers. i love trees...hehehe.
ReplyDeletethanks for reminding all of us to see the gifts of nature in many ways. would love to be under that tree.
ReplyDeleteLOVE that tree!
ReplyDeleteI love all the ones with the burls and the tree mushrooms that grow on them too.
I often wonder what those old trees have seen/witnessed!?
A very interesting post Ratty, the tree is a big part of the ecological system. They provide shelter, homes and food for much of the wildlife we all enjoy.
ReplyDeleteTrees like the one in your photos can't help but inspire the imagination. Lately my inspiration comes from nature in general. The most recent example is a lovely bird which has inspired a fantasy tale.
When i walk inside the forest my curiosity is very high especially when i saw tree hole like this. I will try to find out what is inside by looking around it. But one thing scare me. I will start imagine snakes come out from that hole...Only then i stop and walk away...hehehehe..:D
ReplyDeleteI just ran across your blog. Love it! Just my cup of sweet tea. ;)
ReplyDeleteCheck out my other blog www.southerngalgoesnorth.blogspot.com
Mountain Woman - Clouds are some of my favorite things to have pictures of. I think they are the one part of nature that everyone gets to enjoy.
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Bill Lattrell - I can remember a tree in front of my grandparents house that was blown down in a storm. It was a part of my childhood that I've always missed.
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Icy BC - I sometimes wonder if anyone else who walks by it notices.
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Steve - Crows are very intelligent birds. When my dad recently came for a visit, he was telling me about a crow that he befriended. He told me that it would come to him every day so he would give it a snack.
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Ann - Yeah, most people don't know what they're missing. I hope they begin to look too.
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Vanilla - I think mine are probably geese and squirrels now, whether I like it or not. :)
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Rainfield - Cerok Tokun is one of my favorite places too, even though it only knows your face and not mine.
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Harumi - I looked at it again after you mentioned it, and I see the face and glasses too. That tree has a lot of character.
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Poetic Shutterbug - Your Botanical Gardens is a very special place. It would be one of the first things I'd want to see if I was there.
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Webbielady - Yeah, it is like a little house. I wish I was small enough to fit inside it. It is almost big enough. :)
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PJ - A tree like this one is something that almost calls to me, at least as much as any other thing.
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Betchai - I think I examine that tree every time I walk past.
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The Retired One - I like those too. Some look almost like they'll begin talking or they might walk away.
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SquirrelQueen - Without these trees there wouldn't be much nature. And I wouldn't have these wonderful forests to walk through.
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Rose - I do the same thing as you. Whenever I look at this tree, I watch for animals that might be inside. I always get ready to jump away. :)
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Dana - Thanks, I'm glad you like it here, and I will definitely check out your blog.
That tree is a story in its self. There is a tree that we too pass on one of our hikes. It is an ancient redwood that has half of its base burned out but it still towers over us and it's canopy reaches infinitely into the sky.
ReplyDeleteI love trees.
Julia - Trees are some of the most interesting parts of nature. Too bad some of the older ones, like your ancient redwood, can't talk.
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