Part 2 -Strange trees and weather on our trip ..

[goosey]

Part 2.....

These trees were on the edge of the woodland and exposed to the elements.
The fallen one was still very much alive, it was not surprising it had succomed to the wind, they were the tallest things around.



On the way back,It got really dark, the sky came over so threatening and we were miles away from our bikes but it looked so impressive. Luckily for us the storm blew over.



Then we saw this tree in a canal/river and the water level must be really low as the roots are so exposed but had obviously been in the water for a long period of time. Lots of trees were growing in the water, I have no idea what they are though. Some had been deliberately felled and others had fallen.





It was another good trip out –different than our usual haunts, we saw hardly any fungi and no ponies, no wild flowers this time but two separate herds of the highland cattle, about 14 cattle in each group, we saw two youngsters in one of the groups with horns only a couple of inches long. There were lots of birds around though.
Here is the link to a photo of a herd, I couldn't add another photo.
http://www.wildabouttheworld.com/gallery/data//505/thumbs/ns2007-11-17_Duin_en_Kruidberg_003.jpg

[paul m]

Yes, it's amazing how trees can survive even when half their roots are extracted. Makes life interesting. I always like to go out in the woods after a good storm and examine the tops of the trees which are now at ground level. Particularly with pines you get a lot of insects overwintering up top that you normally wouldn't see.

Surely willow growing in the canal but surprised to see so many partly submerged birches (Betula) they don't usually survive in very damp places.

Yes, it's good to visit different sites - however much you love one area there's always something new top be seen somewhere else.