Collapse and renewal

A mature oak tree, perhaps 200 years old, fell in this ancient woodland nature reserve 30 years ago, or more, or less. 
Still clasped in its roots are the rocks on which it was too shallowly bedded.  But its fall was not catastrophic. It remained sufficiently attached to the ground to continue living and growing and its lateral branches, seeking the sun,  adapted from horizontal to vertical as the other picture shows. Moss, ferns and lichen upholster its trunk and twigs,  fungi find nourishment in the damp leaves below, creepers haul themselves up to the light and birds perch among its outer boughs. In one bark hollow I noticed a foxglove plant was growing. The new season's acorns will soon be dropping, each one with the potential to live for centuries - if the climate of our Earth allows.

There is hope to be found here, as well as fear. Collapse doesn't have to mean the end. Life can continue in new ways.