On our way to a shop at Lidl this morning, Jackie pulled into a farmer’s drive and leapt out of the car with her camera.
Whenever we pass this weather-ravaged oak tree we make a mental note to photograph the effect of the sometimes savage coastal winds that have carved one side of the tree into a monumental headstone. With the cluster of crows taking a breather today – they are often found perching on markers of final resting places – this was the moment we had been waiting for. Jackie’s first picture also shows how a different kind of climate has prematurely altered the pigment of the fields around.
This afternoon I published https://derrickjknight.com/2022/08/08/the-great-gatsby/
This evening we dined on more of the chicken in Nando’s sauce; Jackie’s savoury rice; and tender green beans, with which the Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden, I drank more of the Côtes-du-Rhône, and Flo and Dillon drank Ribena. (No, WP, how many times must I tell you this is not Ribera?)
Wonderful photos by Jackie. I love oak trees and crows–and the shadows on the trunk. I can imagine that oak has stories to tell.
Thank you very much from us both, Merril
You’re both very welcome!
How amazing!
Thanks very much, Sheree
The birds look a bit ominous, as if ready to pounce on a dead animal. It’s amazing that the wind from the coast has altered the tree that much.
Thanks very much, John
Those two photos were definitely worth slamming on the binders and leaping out of the car!
Thanks very much from us both, Liz
You’re welcome, Derrick.
Crows do some strange things at this time of the year. A few years back I saw a parliament with magpies. Around 30 of them in a field, perched in a huge circle, with one in the middle who appeared to be talking to the rest. Decidedly weird!!
Amazing. That must have been seen by whoever dreamed up the collective noun. Thanks very much, John
Magnificent oak. Your dinner sounds delicious. I love Cotes DU Rhone.?
Thanks very much, Pat. You can’t go wrong with it
Good opportunism indeed.
Thanks a lot from us both, Tootlepedal
What a weird tree, Derrick. It looks like it has antlers.
Thanks very much, Rosaliene
What a fine photo. Wind-bent trees are one thing, but this tree, with that dead section, is truly unusual. It certainly does make an inviting perch for the birds.
Thank you very much from us both, Linda
A very fine picture of the crows in the tree
Thanks very much from us both, Laurie
Great shot. My compliments to Jackie.
Thanks very much from us both, Dolly
Fascinating.
Ah yes, Ribera was a Spanish Tenebrist painter and printmaker in the 1600s!
Thanks very much, Barbara. So now I know
love love crows… this was a wonderful moment for me to see all the crows.. kudos to Jackie.
Thanks very much from us both, Q
Well, now I’ve learnt what/who Ribera was.
And I’ve used a solitary crow/raven as a harbinger of doom in my current manuscript…
Thanks very much, Gwen. I don’t know about Ribera 🙂
I ran off Book Club Mom’s comment “Ribera was a Spanish Tenebrist painter and printmaker in the 1600s”. Now I have to go look up Tenebrist.
I read Barbara’s comment after yours 🙂
The wind must have been precisely angled to create this pattern. I’m glad the rest of the tree seems healthy, and that you had a camera handy.
Thanks very much, JoAnna. Because we were going shopping without a forest drive, I left my camera behind. Fortunately Jackie had hers
Perhaps you will share some of Jackie’s progression of pictures?
Perhaps my text was confusing, Anne. I’m off to change it now. There were no more pictures recording the drying of the fields. Thank you very much
Now I have looked back it was definitely misleading. Thanks again, Anne
Oh wow! What a stunning capture!
Thank you very much from us both, Ribana
Great find ! Beautiful photos Jackie!
Thanks very much from us both, Aletta
☺️
Well done for spotting the great photo opportunity, Jackie.
I love how the wind shapes the trees. The exception is the tall Christmas tree in our garden; when looking at it from one angle, it appears as though it is only half a tree due to the prevailing wind blasting it from the southwest.
Thanks very much from us both, Sue
Beautiful photos, Jackie!
It’s like maybe the crows are trying to decorate that tree!
(((HUGS))) 🙂 ❤️
Thanks very much from us both, Carolyn XX
Terrific shot, Jackie!!
Thanks very much from us both, GP
I imagine the tree providing perches so the birds will eat the insects on the tree. 🙂
A good thought, Sherry. Thanks a lot.
Stunning photos! Good candidates for a mystery.
Thank you very much from us both, Eugi.
Most welcome.
Fantastic to see all the birds perching there. Is it just the wind, or has it been struck by lightning at some stage? This pictures reminds me of the saying about an oak’s lifespan – 300 years to grow, 300 to live/consolidate and 300 years to die.
I hadn’t heard that saying, Susan. We think it is the prevailing wind which can be up to 100 m.p.h coming straight across from about a mile from the coast. Thanks very much
Hi – going to read your latest Tales post
And cheers to Lidls – i Think that is my son’s fav store
Our son led me to it. Thanks very much, Yvette
☀️?
An interesting tree to say the least.
Thank you very much, Andy
You’re welcome.
Regardless of the weather/wind effect, the Oak tree stands tall, and is beautiful. What great photos by Jackie! The crows and the bare branches. What a fine composition. Love it.
Is there ever anything more beautiful than a tree?
Thank you very much from us both, Zakiah. I really like trees, too
That weather-ravaged oak tree is amazing! And finding it with all those birds perched on the exposed branches was wonderful. Good for you, Jackie, for capturing it.
That tree has a unique beauty to it, derrick.
It does,Lavinia. Thank you very much from us both
Why would WP think Ribena is Riberia? I think the anesthetic has scrambled my brain. I don’t understand.
If they don’t recognise a word, they just change it to one they do. Thanks very much, Chrissy
WP doesn’t have shares in Ribena, it seems!
Clearly not. Thanks very much, Catherine
They say that ‘Birds of a feather flock together”. That appears to be happening on top of the oak tree. Great photos, Derrick!
Thank you very much, Diane