The Catapult Tree

Another day of cycle commuting so another day of roadside "over the wall" shots. Although I'm cycling a lot of the same roads I'm still seeing new things every day. The morning was again very dull with a blanket white/grey sky, but I've realised that these conditions are quite conducive to capturing the wonderful shapes of the trees. The background landscape fades away naturally to delineate the often quite improbable contours of the trunk and branches.

I do wonder about the natural history of this one, what exactly caused it to change its mind about growing up and prompted it to turn back towards the earth? To me it looks just like a catapult, about to spring back upright and launch some poor unsuspecting bird into the stratosphere!

I took my short scenic route in this morning and came back via Wilsden and Micklethwaite, which anyone who knows the area will understand to be a very devious and circuitous line - about as strange as the way this tree has grown! But it was good to be on some novel lanes and I bagged a climb tonight which I'd not done before. I really find it hard to do exactly the same route two days running!

Thank you for the wonderful response to yesterday's Chorus Line. It seems that the humble hawthorn has a place in many people's heart. They always seem to prove very popular. I'm going to have dig into their mythology when I have a moment. But thank you especially to those people who kindly conferred hearts. I'm falling really far behind with my "thank yous", so in the meantime perhaps you'll allow me to offer a big universal "thank you" to each and every person who has favourited my blips in recent days. It is the very greatest of honours. The excitement at getting one of those notifications is just as great now as it was when I got my very first - and didn't even know what it meant!

Still sitting here in my bike gear! A bath, dinner and a TV date with the boys awaits. Hope to return a bit later.