There’s a small steep sided valley near here presided over by mature beech trees. Planted by our Victorian ancestors, they may now be nearing the end of their lives. Several have succumbed to a fungal infection, and/or waterlogged soils and strong winds. I’ve been visiting them for some forty years now, and am particularly fond of a couple of them.(see also here). On a recent walk I was once again spellbound by the tangled sinuousness of their branches, so I took this portrait to try to evoke the weight of all that scultped living hardwood. (Double click for a larger view).
Beech Tree, Fagus Sylvatica, in Winter.
animist jottings 
There’s some fascinating ‘squiggling’ occuring here!