Lichens on trunk of Hoheria angustifolia

I should have had an earthquake image for today, the third anniversary of 2011. However, I stopped on our bike ride this morning when I saw this small tree, surviving in among the grass and tussock, a small remnant of the bush that used to cover the Port Hills.

I had taken only the little XZ1 with me, and in the bright light I struggled to see the screen. I should learn to assess the image without resorting to screen or viewfinder, but today I missed the fact that in all my shots the slender tree trunk was bisected by the horizon, in a distracting way. Yet again I regret that, at the end of our last trip, I left my viewfinder attachment for the camera in my day pack that resides in our Jeep now kept in the USA. I have several months still to wait until I can retrieve it.

My solution was to crop out most of the tree and concentrate on the lichens, which attracted me to the tree in the first place. Not ideal, but better than nothing. The sunset was nothing spectacular tonight, either (at least, not from here).