285/365: "There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle." ~ Deepak Chopra (many pictures in notes!)

12 more pictures in notes above! :)

I was planning on taking the dogs on a walk around the lower forest today, but I ended up only about 100 feet from the house when I saw a mossy stump and wanted to investigate more closely. No mushrooms. Then I noticed some pine cones and thought they would make a very nice subject. After I spent some time taking pictures, I saw that the bark on the pine tree was very interesting and took a closer look. What a surprise! Did you know that pine trees can have all kinds of different bark? I completely forgot that I'd seen trees with bark like this before, but even then, I didn't look very closely. Ponderosa Pine trees have bark like layered jigsaw puzzle pieces!! To prove the point, see the inset images or the next two pictures (with their insets). Totally fascinated, I studied the bark carefully, gently removing a piece or two, and discovering that many pieces can be removed and then replaced on the tree! I spent time trying to show how much the layers resemble shale (a type of fine-grained sedimentary rock). Very interesting, isn't it?! The bark is fun to look at too, with beautiful textures and colors. I chose the picture above for my Picture of the Day because it's such an picturesque abstract and looks like a pterodactyl to me! :)

From Wiki:
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, or western yellow pine, is a very large pine tree of variable habit native to western North America, but widespread throughout the temperate world. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane. It is the official state tree of the State of Montana. The Ponderosa Pine is a large coniferous evergreen tree. The bark helps to distinguish it from other species. Mature individuals have cinnamon-red bark with black crevices. Younger trees have black to reddish-brown bark. The tree can often be identified by its characteristic long needles that grow in tufts of two to four (or five) depending on subspecies.

Deepak Chopra (born October 22, 1947) is an Indian-American physician, a holistic health/New Age guru, and alternative medicine practitioner. Chopra has taught at the medical schools of Tufts University, Boston University and Harvard University. He became Chief of Staff at the New England Memorial Hospital (NEMH) in Massachusetts, before establishing a private practice. In 1985, Chopra met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who invited him to study Ayurveda. Chopra left his position at the NEMH and became the founding president of the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine, and was later named medical director of the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center. Wikipedia: Deepak Chopra