Monday, August 20, 2012

Tree of Life

California white oak (Quercus lobata), Chimney Rock Rd, Paso Robles, CA.

(Click to enlarge)
 
Is there any organism on the planet that, pound for pound or acre for acre, supports as much life - in terms of diversity and volume - as the oaks?
I counted 15 wild turkeys under this tree, feasting on early dropping acorns.  Standing amidst the turkeys were three large does which bounded gracefully away just as I pulled to a stop (and yes regular readers, I actually pulled to a stop this time before shooting the photo - big mistake ;-).

And if you look closely in the reflection of the windshield of my Dodge pick up you can see the ghosts of the humans - the indigenous people of California's central coast - that were smart enough to take their place beside the wild turkeys, deer, squirrels, jays, woodpeckers, etc etc etc and take sustenance from these Trees of Life.

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