If a Tree Falls...

I've been out and about a bit this week, in between the bouts of rain and, on Tuesday, found myself walking through part of the New Forest, where I came upon this spectacularly fallen tree.  The photo doesn't really do justice to just how big the tree was.  It has clearly been down for some time - note how grass has grown over the site of its uprooting - probably blown down earlier this year.  I'd like to say that it had stood there for decades before falling foul of the power of the weather, but it is clearly one of the conifers the Forestry Commission tends to plant these days.  They are quick growing and therefore can be harvested for timber within a few years of planting.  So, despite its impressive height (or rather length, now that it is horizontal), it probably wasn't that old. 

In fact, there has been a fair amount of tree-felling in this particular enclosure recently, judging by the number of stacked logs to be found beside the various paths.  That and the signs warning of forestry work going on and the distant sounds of power saws.  Anyway, to return to the original point, it is no bad thing to sometimes be reminded of the power of nature - in this case a huge tree felled by the elements.  Indeed, it is a far better way to be reminded than by having your roof damaged by gale force winds, as happened to me a few years ago.  As you can probably guess, I'm struggling to come up with a proper post for today - I was out again for most of the day: a trip to the beach followed by a long walk in another part of the forest.  It was a perfect day for it - no rain, the sun out and a pleasant breeze.  Which, unfortunately, meant that the beach was far too busy for my liking.  (It was also bloody expensive, with parking charges jacked up to £2.50 an hour!  I think I'll be avoiding Lepe beach in future - other nearby beaches give you two hours parking for £2.00 - at some you can even find some free parking).  Still, I'm at least managing to salvage some kind of Summer break from this car crash of a year.