Last Thursday night, Storm Otto raged furiously across the northern part of the kingdom. He spent much of his anger in Scotland, and in the far north of England. By the time he reached here, he was wearying, but rallied sufficiently to squall and blast at 65 miles an hour. Trees fell. Branches toppled, ripped away from the fabric of the parent trunk.
When we walked through the deer park at Studley Royal on Monday, we found casualties . Despite the destruction, I found beauty in the ravaged branches.
Click on an image to see it full size.
Here’s another:
This ancient tree however, hasn’t suffered at all.
It’ll take more than Storm Otto to fell most of these sturdy residents of the Deer Park.
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
Holy Shamoly!
~David
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed! What else can one say 😉 ?
LikeLike
Such beauty. You certainly have “the eye”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. They were so striking.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That must have been some storm! I hope they leave the fallen trees there for wildlife habitat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They’re very good like that. Tidy lawn-sweepers need not apply.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He really was in a strop, wasn’t he? He’s revealed some gorgeous colours but at some cost. Glad to hear the old stalwarts made it through.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s surprising, really, how relatively little damage there was. And mostly not terminal either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very pleased to hear that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beauty in the aftermath. Illustration too, of nature’s power and her resilience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly. These trees have survived a very long time, and have longer to go, I hope.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Are the trees Oaks. Do you think think wood was damaged? Had winds like that a few weeks ago. The whole top of a big Ironbark crashed to the ground
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those particular ones aren’t oak. It’s a long-ago planted avenue of lime trees, I had to look Ironbark up. It looks a mighty tree – so sad for it to lose its top.
LikeLike
They are lucky to have lived as long.
Ironbark are magnificent trees but are prone to drop branches
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nature always wins, in the end. But holy moles, at what cost?! And same as you, I marvel at the rugged beauty of those limbs torn off, the force of pulling and breaking those old trees must have been tremendous. And now, I hope nature preservation will keep much of the ‚damage‘ as it is for the birds, worms, and animals to feast on. England does this so well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes indeed. Dead wood is always kept in the Deer Park for it to do its thing for all the other wildlife. While I’m happy to inspect the trees now, I wouldn’t have wanted to be there while Otto was tearing about..
LikeLiked by 1 person
A shame for such old trees to be damaged, but they do create some beauty when they fall! It must be wonderful to spend so much time there, it’s a beautiful place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know I’m very lucky to be able to consider it my back yard.
LikeLike
Ah, we missed this storm! Last year we returned from Costa Rica to land in Storm Eunice – not much fun but a challenge for the pilot! I hate to see ancient trees felled like this so I’m glad most survived, but I do see what you mean about the beauty, especially where you’ve focused on the details of the splintered wood.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The colours were fantastic, and the more you inspected, the more wonders you found.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do like that last picture. Isn’t weather funny, it was a bit blowy here but no storms and we are not that far away after all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I thought you’d have it tough, being nearer the coast. Very odd.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Over a 100 km/h! That was a storm
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was. And we had it easy compared with the Scots, who had 130km,
LikeLiked by 1 person
The force of wind is just incredible. Great photos of the trees though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. It was all a bit – er – gusty.
LikeLike
😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely pictures of our venerable friends Margaret. I used to love being out and about in strong winds, and have experienced my fair share in the Outer Hebrides and St Kilda (No trees to worry about there).
LikeLike
Indeed not. It would have been silly to wander about near trees, but I too absolutely love walking in strong winds on a mild or warm day – for a while anyway. So energising!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always feel sad when a tree comes down.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know. But there are their sons and daughters coming along behind in a place like this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a good thing there are loads of companion trees, Margaret. No safety in numbers, that’s for sure. Lovely sympathetic shots.
LikeLike
You’re right. Studley isn’t short of trees. And though many of them are ancient with a long history, there are plenty of young upstarts too, planning to last just as long.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sad. A gale is just getting started here. It’s going to be a big one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This wasn’t TOO sad. Few trees were actually felled by the wind, it could have been a lot worse. I think the winds you get over your way are far more serious.
LikeLike
We have so far been lucky that road/streets around us haven’t lost our old pohutukawa trees. Luckily for Studley the odd one won’t be missed too much. Felled trees at various angles make for interesting shots, I enjoy looking at the finer details of their rings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I knw 0 they’re amazingly colourful. I’m just
off to lookup pohutukawa trees!
LikeLike
Oh my goodness! I’m glad that Otto the tree-feller has been reduced in size.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He’s gone. But he’ll have brothers and sisters coming along.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a big family!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Endless …
LikeLiked by 1 person
The colours of the ripped wood are really beautiful in their raw, freshness. It is a pity to see trees down and damaged, but it would have been far worse if they had been in full leaf. (I am trying the glass half full approach to life at the moment – it is an effort!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is an effort. But you are quite right. Luckily, there are trees of all ages here and really, they got off pretty lightly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, my! Those ‘crying’ trees with torn limbs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed. So sad to see, and yet so beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, the north of the UK has certainly had its share of strong winds in the last year or two! Tragic to see so many great trees uprooted. Marvellous to see the ones that resist!
LikeLiked by 1 person
All things considered it could have been a lot worse. And there are many creatures ready to receive the gift of dead and dying wood!
LikeLike
Goodness, looks like it was quite a powerful one! Agree about finding beauty in the havoc, you got some really great shots!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I thought these trees deserved their 5 minutes of fame.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done those old trees for resisting too much damage…. Your images showcase the lovely colours of the bark, textures too. Thanks for the preview the other day, and good to see these again
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy to oblige! Hope you had a good day yesterday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, thankyou… good to be with friends, but dull weather, and a chill wind
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, you can’t have everything.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Precisely
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your last looks better than the Yew the Woodland Trust wants us to vote for as European Tree of the Year. It’s sad to see them splintered but the broken one is fascinating with the layers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is indeed. We have rather a lot of splendid yews round our way too – many hundreds of years old.
LikeLiked by 1 person