Fallen Trees

 Calendar spring has come but I cannot recognize it yet. The weather yesterday seemed we could finally experience what we love about springtime. I opened the window but had to close it shortly after because the wind was getting stronger and stronger and it finally turned into a storm. 

This morning I checked my home and I could not see any outside damage. During my noon break, I went to a nearby park expecting to see some damage there. All I could see were some fallen branches. 

After my work hours, I went to a larger park with more mature trees, and there I saw a fallen tree. I stopped shortly to observe it and I took a picture of it. 

The park was empty. No children at its playground. Not too many people want to be outside when the mercury in a thermometer stretches only to 43 degrees Fahrenheit (6 C). Even the birds are silent. No happy birdsongs. No pecking by woodpeckers. 

Even in such weather and in an empty park one can observe a lot if they pay attention to details. A guy appears in the part walking his dog. He is looking at his phone. The dog is sniffing and watching around. There is some additional tree damage to last night storm. 

Walking further I've noticed a large tree trunk. It's not new. I've seen it before. I just did not pay attention at the time. That is all that is left from another fallen tree. 

There are differences between the two fallen trees. The first one died naturally. When it was you it was bowing to winds. Then it grew and became stronger but also rigid. Then it fell. It was completely urooten. In a few days, the park maintenance crew will take it away. The grass will grow where it stood. The other tree has never reached its full lifespan. Its lifespan was cut by a chainsaw but it left a mark. That stump stays as a tomb for a fallen tree.

There is a lot to observe in a park even in the weather as it was today if one pays attention and puts their headsets, phones, and especially worries away.