Back to the ranch we went on MLK Jr. day, DH had the day off and DS joined us for a hike at
Quail Hollow Ranch.
A lot of the trees are struggling for various reasons (drought, diseases, or old age), and are festooned with various opportunistic mosses and lichens.
This tree was striking to me for the amazing amount of pinecones right on the branches. A lot of trees (and other plants) at the end of their life will throw out a huge last group of pinecones in the hopes of producing offspring. A good strategy that usually works.
We were quite impressed by the enormous Eucalyptus tree that had fallen over. What a sound this monster must have made when it hit the ground.
My two hikers next to the enormous root ball. I told them to pretend like they'd just pushed the tree over.
It really was impressive to walk around the destruction zone.
I think this tree must have fallen after the last rains because the rootball seems to still hold all the dirt. Usually it gets washed out by the heavy rains we get.
A really really big mushroom had been placed on one of the fence posts. DS was pretty sure it was edible, but we decided not to risk it.
The pond was nice and full of water, several geese were bugging the people off to the right eating lunch so we weren't bothered. We got to sit and watch the pairs of ducks hunting in the pond which was a nice way to finish up the hike.
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