Bark

In the garden of my school, where I work, there are plenty of old oak trees. Several of them are very, very old. I don't know how old, but impressively so, I'm sure. 
I'm fascinated by the trees capability to compensate for weight differences, for instance if the tree decides to grow a new branch, the tree compensates the extra weight by making the bark thicker (and also the wood inside the bark) to be able to support the new branch in the future. The structure of the bark also changes the closer to the branch you get. It also changes its total shape of the crown by growing new branches to be able to keep the over all weight balance in order not to fall over in the next storm. 

Todays blip shows what the bark looks like right under one of the first, enormous branches. It's like if the tree decides how many new supportvalleys and ridges it has to create to be able to carry the new weight and it keeps on changing over time. Fascinating to watch up close I think. Notice also the little acorn hidden into the bark, probably put there by some bird to use as a handy snack in the future.

In the extra you can see the whole glorious tree in a picture taken a month ago.