Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: pine

One day when I was walking along our ridgeline a couple of years ago, I turned to look at the trees around me when I noticed something odd. It was a pine tree sapling, obviously young, but it was higher from the ground than it ought to be. There was an oak tree in the way so I moved around it so I could discover how the sapling could grow so tall. But, when I moved around the oak tree, the sapling wasn't where I thought it would be...so I turned my head and...HOLY COW! The sapling was growing from a hole in the oak! And it was obviously doing quite well in its strange home! I have come back to see how it's been doing and it continues to grow from this odd spot, and apparently the oak tree is no worse off from the helping hand its giving the pine! Remarkable! This picture was a very interesting challenge to me. I wanted to show the sapling and the oak, but I wasn't able to get the very busy background sufficiently soft enough for my satisfaction. So I experimented with filters and textures. Nothing worked. Then I tried black and white. Nope. Finally I thought...WAIT! Let's try a bit of both! VIOLA! I found a way to highlight this lovely little sapling without losing it in the crazy dappled background!

(+9 insets above) This is a developing cluster of male pine cones surrounded by many needles, which are this plant's leaves. The pine cones we are familiar with are female cones. On a pine tree, male pine cones are usually found in clusters like this one, and are concentrated near the bottom of the tree, while the female cones are concentrated near the top. This arrangement helps to ensure cross-pollination between pine trees. There is another story here too, if you look closely. On the right side of the cluster, you will see a small spider, and if you look down below, you will see its newly shedded skin or exoskeleton. My apologies for posting so infrequently. I am busy working on my book, and now that the last day of frost has arrived, I have a garden to plant. And of course, there are a zillion other things going on...work, life, etc! :D Explored on May 6, 2014. Highest placement, #1.

Pine needles tipped with frost!