Bend, Don't Break

I have been watching this tree in our local park for a couple months now. I can't remember when I first noticed it; after the hail storm or one of the ferociously windy days we've been having. I do know that it has been bowed over long enough to expect that if it were no longer living, the leaves would be falling off. Instead the birds flit in and out, hiding for a rest in the branches, but probably too wise to nest in anything so close to terra firma (translated into bird-ese = cat country). I'm surprised that I never see children trying to climb into the leafage, but perhaps I haven't been there at the right time. I believe that if I were a kid, the tree would draw me, simply to find out if it is truly just bending and not breaking.


Curiousity did force me to investigate; the kid in me isn't completely dead yet.

I can't figure out what is going on--up close the trunk appears to be twisted then bent over but there is no crack or break of any sort forming the point of a V where the tree bends. It's a gentle U as though the tree got tired of fighting the wind and simply decided to assume a new shape that was a bit more wind-friendly.

What a lesson. Why keep fighting? Just learn to bend and I can stay alive. And with my head resting on the ground maybe I can get a little rest at the same time. :)