I wanted to convey the surreal sense of seeing a large part of an otherwise healthy forest being struck down. The beech tree, now dead, looks like a left hand (side view including thumb) reaching up to the sky. Today we walked the Kuebler Trail with some friends to see first hand just how bad the beech tree blight has gotten. We lost count the dozens and dozens of huge dead trees like the one pictured here. The diseased ones are spotted because of a while film that forms a sort of scale on the trunk. Across Europe and North America, beech trees have been infected with this blight that is killing about 95% of them ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_bark_disease). They are a magnificent species with elephant-like bark, growing to majestic heights. But apparently nothing can stop this infection. Very sad to see and it affects the entire food chain, as the smaller animals depend on the beech tree nuts for food.
While this disease is tragic (and you do see the aftermath of big trees having been removed in Germany, too) your photo captures a sense of hope for a rebirth, see through the nurturing colors of growth depicted through the blue and green.
Okay, first: beautiful shot, lovely contrast with the deep blue of the sky, the rich green of the healthy trees, and the mottled, dying beech. Secondly: I didn't know about this terrible blight on beech trees! Your photo is a fav, AND you taught me something today. Thank you!
Thank you all for your wonderful response to this image. I was just so sad thinking of how different the island is going to look in the next few years. I remember as a child when Dutch Elm wiped out all our elm trees. It feels so helpless to watch -- all the trees that had the white scaly fungus are doomed. Anyway, thank your for viewing, commenting, and thinking about these poor trees and the wildlife that will be hurt without their food.
This is truly tragic, and this photo captures it so well. We lost the only climbing tree in our neighborhood to Dutch Elm Disease when I was young, and it just tore me up.
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