Middle Age

These cypress may not be as photogenic as many that I have photographed but they do help to tell the story of life on the edge of large lakes for this species. They grow tall when young and if they survive, the elements will continually batter and shape them into infinitely varied forms by breaking off their tops and forcing lower branches to become the apex. This breakage compromises the heart of the trees causing the interior rot which makes many hollow. Oddly enough, being hollow lent them no commercial value which saved them from the saw when this area was clear cut. To reach this stage takes many hundreds of years.