Stumped

As an amateur photographer, I find myself most often drawn to still-life images in nature. And while the idea of death and decay may seem morbid to some, I find stumps and fallen limbs on  the ground to be beautiful sites with contrast, shadow, and sometimes a story to tell. Often while out on a jog or hike, I notice the stark grays and blacks and various shades of rusty brown.

The trunk above has several fungi growing out of it. My favorite part of it is that the top fungi looks like a guinea pig peaking out from a crack in the trunk.

Each of the photos above shows the variety to be found of stumps and dead limbs in nature. Each one is quite different in size, color, and setting.

The bright sunlight and shadows around this stump disguise the brilliant white fungus growing in various places on the wood. I wish I had GPS located this one so I could come back a year from now and see just how rapidly it had decayed.

All of the photos in this set came from a hike in Lost Maples State Recreation Area near Vanderpool. While I went looking for fall color, the warm temperatures had kept most of the leaves from changing; however, the lovely fall day and other sites more than made up for the lack of fall foliage. Of course, I'm used to that in Texas.