Deep in the wood, a tree
It has obviously been, over the years, a popular spot for young couples who were ‘walking out together’ (OK make that many years ago) the trunk is pot marked with carved initials, most of them now too deformed to read, except for
I and S, they made their mark, with the intention it should last, or maybe they just had the sharpest knife?(maybe a butcher or a carpenter by trade?) and I suspect, as I+S’s ‘love heart’ is now situated at nearly 6 feet up the tree trunk, (a bit of a stretch for easy carving) that the sweethearts may now lie under a different inscription, a tombstone in the church yard, 1/2 a mile down the valley.
Would another photo of decomposing wood be taking a ‘cycle of life’ metaphor a bit far? never mind it’s pretty dead wood
But lets not be morbid, the sap is rising and the bluebells are on their way, I love bluebells.
Uphilldowndale 
The fungus looks lush, as if it just popped up overnight. And tiny little bluebell spikes poking through the leaves . . . AND you went to a Tom Paxton concert and met him afterward.
I love those little signs of spring. 🙂
I also like the gnarliness of the tree in the first shot. It looks like a tree with a lot of character.
I like the way you have threaded your thoughts, stories and photos together so interestingly 🙂 It’s quite fascinating to think how ‘marking time’ is shown in so many ways. Agreeing that the fungus is amazing!
Oh, what a wonderful knobby, mossy and fascinating old tree! The first thing I noticed was the large-nosed “face” with the “hrumphf!” expression and I thought, “Hey! An Ent!” And then you pointed out that the lover’s carved heart was about six feet up the trunk. Whoa. That’s a tree for the ages, Uhdd.
What an amazing tree … the stories it could tell! I enjoyed your musings.
K
Love the lovers’ tree.
Wow, I see spring signs in your neck of the planet! 🙂
The height of the carving tells us how long ago it might have been made? I’d never thought of that. 6 foot up and six foot under, both. Freaky!
Oooh, nice one Joss, I missed that one.
Mr Uhdd and I have been debating, does tree bark only grow outwards (as in a wider trunk girth) and not upwards? if it only grows outwards, then the carving is where it started out, my musing is wrong and one of the young lovers was very tall. I think it does a bit of both, this is a totally unscientific opinion on my part and now I am wondering does bark shed like skin? Does a tree get new bark as it grows? Do different bit of a tree grow at different rates as it matures, like babies heads and limbs? I could look it up….. but that isn’t my plan of action for today…I should be working…… oh no I’m distracted again. I’ll put the kettle on.
Lovely post, and very interesting to read the old article about decent walking.
You are not alone, getting distracted that way! Sometimes I imagine how strange a memo of the comming daily work would look, if it was written as the way it turns out.
Pingback: To the Woods « Uphilldowndale