When Trees Become Dead Wood

In many nature blogs, and travel vlogs the beauty of healthy majestic trees is rendered in photographs. Yes, that is what makes our heart beat accelerate. It speaks to a sense of beauty and aestetics. It calls up memories that strengthen our sense of perfection, tenderness and charm. However, trees die as we do, and remind us then of the passing of time. Sometimes their death is the result of our industrial actions. Sometimes their death is natural and part of the cycle of life. Their dead bodies allow new plants and trees to grow and to reach to the sky.

I have been musing about these events lately, as we are moving closer to late fall and early winter.

After felling, the trunks are cut into logs.

They are piled up and let dry for a couple of months.

Look at the cut faces and how they entice microscopic life to emerge.

Sometimes tree trunks wither and provide a watchout to big birds,
like this heron.

Sometimes they become funny skulptures that catch the unexpected eye.

Eventually, they fall to the ground and decay.

Some logs are recycled in the Nature Reserve to build a dam.

Some logs are turned into planks and in turn into benches for visitors of the Reserve to observe, contemplate and slow down.

In winter, snow keeps the rare visitor from spending time seated.

I hope that this pictural story is inspiring, and reminding of the value of life and death in the larger picture of living things. When summer ends, I need to become accustomed to cold temperatures, to gloves and sweaters when I venture into the Nature Reserve. At some point, nature fights us off and claims a deserved respite in order to stretch out again a few months later with tender greens all over.

One response to “When Trees Become Dead Wood”

Sharon

October 2, 2025 at 5:22 pm

So well written and so well captured on your ventures. Your photography and your story does make you realize that we walk past this natural beauty all of the time and forget to consider what these trees have been through in their lifetime. Thank you Beat.

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Vogelmoos Nature Reserve