I took this picture at the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park on July 31, 2023. The bottom half of the picture is the root stock that was turned up when a very large spruce tree fell decades ago. On the top half of the picture are the new trees that grew on top of the fallen tree.
I did use a photo editor to separate the root colors within the fallen nurse log from the trees growing above it. The fallen tree was massive, the rootstock of the nurse log is 2 - 3 stories high.
Nurse log's are special - they are nature's "Giving Tree" that Shel Silverstein writes of in the book of the same name.
"Sit down and rest... And the tree was very happy"
I like to imagine the fallen tree is happy that it could help the younger trees grow.
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