 he
shady woods are called that for what will soon be an obvious
reason. They are shady, and they are wooded. While calling a
woods "shady" may seem somewhat self-evident, after all trees
are a prime source of the shade on planet Earth, this particular stretch
of woods has deeper shadows and better dark corners than most.
It's no Mirkwood; you never fear that an Ent is going to come to life
and snatch you up, but it's pleasantly gloomy, while still feeling safe
and comfortable.
In these woods are
numerous very cool trees, nice ferny undergrowth, and a little grove
with a statue of St. Mary. All of these are pictured in this
section, often with Flux or Malaya standing in the frame for scale, and
also just because we enjoy taking photos of each other. Any excuse
to smile back and forth a bit more is a good one for us.
The first series of Windy
Hills shots were taken about an hour before these shots, hence the
identical wardrobe for Malaya and I.
Malaya and I really
enjoyed walking through these woods, so return visits are entirely
possible. If we do and we take more pictures, they'll be added to the
bottom of this page.
All current shots were
taken in late May, 2003 and posted to this page July 2, 2003.
Flux stands on the
pathway, in the last bars of sun before the darkness of the forest
devours all hope.
This is maybe the best
photo in the entire photos section. Really. Click it and see for
yourself.
Lots of nice paths like
this in the areas with slightly fewer trees. Fewer here since the path
goes along a relatively steep hill, too steep for large trees to grow
on, apparently. This photo is by Malaya, standing near where she is seen
in the photo below this one.
I love the huge tree
trunk that fell across the path. Down the hill a bit to the right
are foot-thick wheels of tree that someone chain sawed out some years
ago, cleaning the path after whatever storm or flood brought down the
tree in the first place. And yes, that's Malaya peeking out from
behind the foliage.
The redwood grove at
the edge of the woods. These were obviously imported and planted
in these neat rows, and they are damn tall, though nothing compared to
the gargantuan wild ones you find further up the California
coast.
How big are they?
Tiny, for redwoods, but pretty damn large when you stand right up next
to them.
All of the trunks have
cute little sprigs surrounding them, in a fashion somewhat reminiscent
of pubic hair.
Click this shot to see
a larger view.
We found several groves
of these weird trees. Some had limbs like this, while others were
like this entirely. Just a trunk coming out of the ground and then
growing over sideways for 30 or 40 or 60 feet, before dipping down
almost to the ground again. They must have unbelievable root
systems to keep upright with this sort of lean.
Click the image for a
larger view.
Another look at one of
these leaning type trees. Lovely mixture of sunlight and color at
the top of this shot. Malaya is just barely visible to the lower
right.
Click the image for a
larger view.
I loved the color in
this one; the dark bark, the grey trees in the back, the golden
sunshine, and the light green of leaves and little scrubby limbs growing
out the top of the leaning tree trunk. Sorry, but there is no larger
version to click and view.
Back a bit into the
woods, you encounter this statue up on her pedestal of rocks. It's a
lovely statue, and even the pathway to it is nice, in a left-wild sort
of way. A big paved sidewalk out here would ruin much of the charm
of the woods, so I'm glad there isn't one.
A view of the statue
from the side, showing the entire rock base. That's Malaya's
shadow on the front, if you were wondering. By this time it was near
dusk, and the sunlight was slanting into this clearing through the
trees, making for lovely lighting.
A rear view, showing
the detail of the robe. I tried a few shots with the sun just peeking
around the corner, but they looked overexposed, unfortunately.
And at last, a big view
of the front of the statue. It's nicely-done; enough detail to
look real and beautiful. The jelly jar was an offering someone
left there, likely with prayers sealed inside. There was something in
the jar as well, but it was well dried up and unidentifiable.
I liked this detail of
the sculpture the best, with Mary crushing the apple-bearing snake
beneath her bare foot.
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