I have always been facinated with the resilency of nature. I can think of numerous times when I have been surprised to find something that most people would likely think just "shouldn't be". A tree growing from a rock, a sapling growing from another tree's trunk, an unusuall shaped branch that just shouldn't be able to be shaped how it is without human interference.
The tree pictured here was found on a trail generally only known to locals from in and around Cargill, Ontario. It stood out as something one does not ever really see: a tree fallen, rotten out, yet growing new trees from the old roots. Seeing this makes me reconsider how to calculate the true age of a tree -- is it really as old as its rings? Perhaps not, the tree may have fallen over, and restarted -- the same tree, just getting another chance at life. How many times can a tree do this?
To me this demonstrates the importance of trees in our "human" environments. Trees are resilient, and the only reason they are decreasing in population is our endeavours to completely remove them from some places. They are quite forgiving and accomodating. If only we could be as accomodating and forgiving to their needs, perhaps we would see more trees in our urban, "developed", environments.
