javadoug
Relic
A fabulous trail along the Allegheny River in the wee corner of the county with the same name affords a wondrous hike in any season. In winter it is even so as interesting, yet sometimes difficult to photograph, unless you stretch a little beyond the confines of 'the box'. This old relic is a Black Birch tree, readily identified by the variegated peeling bark. These trees are the first to repopulate land after it has been cleared, in succession they are the first to die off to be replaced eventually by the hardwoods like oak. Yet they still provide a use for various forms of fauna, like insects, and perhaps woodpeckers like the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (not as common) or the more common Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker or Hairy Woodpecker which are present in these woods year round.
Harrison Hills Park, Western Pennsylvania, USA
Relic
A fabulous trail along the Allegheny River in the wee corner of the county with the same name affords a wondrous hike in any season. In winter it is even so as interesting, yet sometimes difficult to photograph, unless you stretch a little beyond the confines of 'the box'. This old relic is a Black Birch tree, readily identified by the variegated peeling bark. These trees are the first to repopulate land after it has been cleared, in succession they are the first to die off to be replaced eventually by the hardwoods like oak. Yet they still provide a use for various forms of fauna, like insects, and perhaps woodpeckers like the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (not as common) or the more common Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker or Hairy Woodpecker which are present in these woods year round.
Harrison Hills Park, Western Pennsylvania, USA