These images capture a phenomenon that fascinated me when I first saw it during a visit to my Story of Place location. The morning lighting and shadows beautifully highlights the leaves on the trees. But the real intrigue is that this tree has grown around and through rock! Two notorious features of nature, both of which may also be extremely old, existing as a unit tied together. It is fascinating to wonder how long this tree and this rock have been here. Also, what came first: the tree or the rock? The rock might have been there before the tree even began to grow, or perhaps it moved into the tree’s space as a sapling. How might this affect the health of the tree, as its roots are so firmly rooted and related to this rock formation? What a curious phenomenon.
Nicole, I really appreciate these thoughts. While on a geology field trip I found a small rock with a very small seedling growing out of it. I was fascinated as I could not fathom quite how a plant would take root in a rock devoid of soil and water. There are such curious things happening in nature that you would not expect. I also really enjoyed hearing your thought process on the topic as I think I would have had different questions and I really like how you entertain which came first. What a curious sight!