Hi, everybody,
for the last couple of days, I have been searching for old pictures of my old Mugo Pine “BIG RON” to go along with the story of its history I am writing for my website. I had to look trough, 3 big boxes, full of old pictures and wile doing this I came across some old pictures of me with 2 inspiring trees that I would like to share with you. They proved that nothing is impossible for mother nature and that when it comes to styling, we can only bow our head!
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- This picture was shot in early 2000 during a weekend trip I made to the Belgium Ardennes. This old “European Beech” Fagus sylvatica had grown here for many centuries, while around it the scenery completely changed. Now it was surrounded by thousand of fur trees, that were planted there for their timber. The only open spaces that were left among this high trees, were the roads that the forestry commission and the lumberjacks used for there working. And just were 4 off these open roads met, this old lonely tree was allowed to grow. But just a few weeks, before this picture was made, this part of Europe was hit by a big storm. And these open roads, surrounded by those high fur trees, must have channelled all the force of this storm, right onto this defenceless old tree! After all these years of surviving a changing environment, this big lonely tree collapsed! On the left, you can see some of the remaining of the once so tall and proud tree. But mother nature must have felt sorry for this big guy and helped it to grow new branches on what was left off its hollowed out trunk. Creating this wonderful image of resilience and the will to live! I wonder if this tree still lives there, all alone on the crossroads of life? As soon as I am able to, I will make the trip to Belgium to check it out!
- This picture was shot in ’98 during my vacation on the beautiful island Ibiza. This wonderful place is not only famous for the many, many nightclubs and all night partying! The nature on this island is also unbelievable! Especially the small “Junipers” that grow there are amazing. On my trip along the coastline, I discovered a spot where incredibly old and contorted “Junipers” lived! Among them, this old and wind battered Pine kept watch! The temperatures are scorching here during Summertime and it hardly ever rains, so besides that this Pine is very beautiful, it is also very special, to be able to grow here for such a long time! I also noticed: that I was in a much better shape back then! 🙂
Hope you like them?
Hans van Meer.
Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com
The Bonsai Blog of Hans van Meer 