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by foxglove_and_ivy

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Pretty Abandoned

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flew to a new state for surgery but first, of course, I had to introduce myself to the local forest there. This beech in particular was exceedingly welcoming

her roots were divine

however far I have to go, and for whatever reason, sitting beneath the trees of that strange new place is a powerful balm for any homesickness

I watched the forest for awhile, the tall pines waving back and forth in their canopy and the tiny lichens growing on fallen branches on the forest floor. I found this beautiful lichen that I’d never encountered before. I tried to find every way that this forest was different than that of my home, and every way it was exactly the same

To my great surprise this fallen tree I had perched upon was amazingly still alive! She had unwilted green leaves full of life. I’m not sure but I doubt that she survived the fall solely because she still had enough roots intact. No, I think she survived because of the support of those around her. down below the soil in the expansive Under Forest some trees actually feed each other through mushroom mycelium connecting their roots, they pass messages to one another and they can even sometimes keep each other alive through great trauma. There have even been tree stumps found that were still alive because of this, because there is so much more to their life than what grows above ground for strangers passing by to see

And even with such extensive injury, these trees that are kept alive by those around them still serve invaluable purposes in their Under Forest community. If they were to die there would be a gap in the root system of the forest, and because of this loss the remaining trees would be forced to struggle around this empty spot to send each other nutrients and information without the lost tree that used to help pass these life giving things between the trees around it. So much of life is far more than what we see at first glance. Both the forest and the fallen tree are better off for having one another.

if that’s true for trees, I’d like to think it’s true for all of us as well

I think we all give something vital to our own version of the Under Forest, even if we don’t realize it. Whoever you are, however fallen you may feel, the forest of the world is better for your being here

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“Derailed in Hungary”

Credit: Citromviasz

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where do you lead?

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Abandoned

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Mount Rainier National Park

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Grand Teton National Park | Wyoming, USA

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The Pacific Northwest is fucking Perfect

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Pretty Prairie Portrait

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Life

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Morning Fog - Jaami

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Joyce G

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On the way down from Östertangen in Dalarna, Sweden.