I love trees. I loved climbing them as a kid, getting lost in the upper most branches looking down on unsuspecting parents that had crazy notions that I needed a bath. These same branches supporting my frame, also supported cool insect colonies, using the sugars as a food source, and cavities in the trunk for shelter. I was in awe of their size and the stateliness they could imbue on a landscape Only later as I pursued a degree in plant physiology did I begin to understand the remarkable adaptability of these giants. Yielding when necessary to conditions too large even for them, with the single purpose of survival. … [Read more...]