Before My Time

Today I am posting a photograph (an extreme close-up) of a stump I discovered in one of the gullies near my home a few days ago.  For whatever reason, I had never walked up this gully in my fifty-plus years of exploring the ranchlands. 

The gnarled appearance of the stump amazed me.  Some weird disease or genetic anomaly must have struck the tree.  But the tree grew to considerable size.  Two men would have been required to reach all the way around the base.  And the tree must have been of some use because the tree was felled many years ago—long before my time.

And while one half of the stump was wholly rotten, so much so you could poke a finger into the crumbling wood, the other half remained fairly sturdy.  Having been protected from the elements, the sturdy side displayed some striking patterns and mixes of color.  Though I attempted a lot of views, this extreme close-up pleased me most of all.

--Mitchell Hegman