Roots Rock

It’s a little difficult to see if the image is small, but this valiant tree rooted in a limestone cliff and its roots traveled through splits in the rocks in a swtichback, all the way down to a tiny pat of soil on a ledge. How did the roots find their way there? How did the tree live until it reached that tiny dollop of soil? Persistence, and a will to live, so that one autumn afternoon it can splash its brilliant yellow leaves against the lichen-frosted limestone on a north-facing cliff.

I recently listened to a program in which several people, from building inspectors to scientists, not how trees will find water, even if it’s in a pipe going into your house. Within days the roots transplanted near a water source will turn and start growing in that direction. And some plants in the studies seemed to be reacting to just the sound of water. It’s called “Plant Parade” from Radiolab, have a listen.

The full image is below, and in that you can see this tree has style—the slender trunk, the root’s path through the rocks and reaching down for the soil, it’s like a mirror image from top to bottom.

For more photos, and the occasional sketch, from this day, search “2022 autumn woods walk”.

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, visit my galleries of Photography on Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “Custom Prints” for availability and terms. I'll be more than happy to make a print for you.