Picture of the day - March 5, 2007

A "Leaning Tree" Near Abingdon, Va

Just outside the Abingdon, Virginia town limits stands a very interesting tree. It is growing out of a creek bank, and over the years the water has washed the soil away from the roots on one side. As a result, the tree began to slowly lean to that side, stopping only when it came to rest against a large rock jutting out of the creek bank on the other side. The "leaning" tree looks quite normal from a distance with its canopy forming the familiar symmetrical shape that vaguely resembles a giant mushroom. But a close look at the trunk shows that it is clearly leaning to the left-hand side, and it has apparently been doing so for a long, long time! I have been driving past this tree for many years, but only recently did I notice how the rock was keeping it from falling onto the ground. I guess the close relationship between this tree and one supportive rock is just one more example of all the interesting things we miss when we fail to pay attention to the world around us.   "Picture of the Day" archives             Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"