The Dreaming Tree

I have passed by this fallen tree countless times - I must have as it's right next to the seawall, an 8.8 km paved path that skirts around the edge of Stanley Park, and a frequent bicycle route for me. But I honestly never noticed it until yesterday morning. Funny how committing to posting a photo a day has really opened my eyes to my surroundings! I don't know anything about this tree, what kind it is, when it fell, and why the Park Board decided to let it sit in place. Just a couple hundred metres further down the path there was a tree that had been damaged in a big wind storm two days before and already city employees were cutting off branches and making it safe. Anyway, on this grey day I thought it looked a little otherwordly, springing out of the ground like that.

This photo was taken very close to the park entrance. On the left is the Stanley Park Causeway, which leads to the Lions Gate Bridge, one of the major vehicle crossings from downtown Vancouver to the North Shore - and certainly the most picturesque. On the right is the seawall itself, bordered by a railing to keep careless people from falling into the waters of Coal Harbour.