Thought: Tribute to the fallen, dead and decaying plants........

It takes decades for a tree to assume its full-size....and barely minutes or maximum a few hours to topple it...It's a tribute to the plants, that grew to provide oxygen, shade, food, landscape beauty, refuge to myriad birds, squirrels and legions of other arboreal critters and accumulated dust on their foliage..and then one day, they succumbed to high wind, lightening bolt, drought or anthropological recklessness..

A fallen eucalyptus tree. This gigantic old tree was toppled over in the recent wind storm ...I often walked below the pleasant, fragrant shadow of this towering tree, inspecting the newly sprouted Chicken of the woods mushroom on its bark or truffles on its roots, listening to the chirping of the sparrows perched on its dense canopy and collecting the white seed cases. Little had I known that this sturdy looking tree was hollow inside due to heavy termite attack. It was good that this enormous tree stood near the boundary and did not cause any casualty to the residents or did not crumple any vehicles parked under it ..........

Another fallen eucalyptus..........

An iconic log lying on the sandy shore of Merced river....that looks like a dragon..

Snags in Sequoia National Park..........

A dead conifer standing by the rim of Bryce National Park.....

A fallen oak in  Laguna mountain recreational area....

All chopped off..only a stub remains..

These shots tell a story of  senescence and decomposition..

the story of conversion from living to nonliving....the formation of soil from trees...

When I laid eyes on this tree in Lake Murray, thought perhaps its sporting its autumn foliage. But, when approached near, it was utter disappointment to find its scorched in heat...poor tree..

When it should have been radiating greenery like the tree below, it has succumbed to that relentless San Diego sun...if only the heat was milder and it rained  a little more...