Thursday 1 September 2022

Man v Nature.


You may remember that I posted this photo of a wall in our nearby churchyard some time ago (below), showing how mankind and nature can live together in perfect harmony.



Sadly I now see that I spoke too soon, and that nature has won!

The roots of the giant Oak tree have now lifted the ancient wall enough to ruin the top and dislodge several bricks.


It will, of course, be rebuilt and maybe it will last another 50 years or more, but in time I'm sure the tree will again give it a good kicking, and it will need to be re-built yet again.

28 comments:

  1. There is a story here, I like the oak and wall living in harmony for decades and eventually, the mighty oak triumphed. I hope they rebuild the wall leaving the oak in good health.

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    1. I quite expect the wall will be rebuilt very soon. I shall publish further photos, when the time comes!

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  2. Always everywhere nature eventually wins.

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    1. Sadly so. It's a shame as the wall was beautiful, but I suppose it will be again.

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  3. Nature proving it is always cyclical.

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  4. If those roots had lifted the wall, the damage would begin at the bottom, but as you can see, the bottom rows of bricks are still firm and straight. Someone has taken a sledgehammer to the wall, perhaps with a plan to even it out instead of having that hump.

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    1. Don't let 'logic' get in the way of a good story. We live in a topsy-turvy world.

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  5. I just hope some do-gooder doesn't decide that the tree has to come down....

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    1. They wouldn't dare.... not in 'green' Brighton.

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  6. We have just had an Ash tree taken down as it was a danger to our house wall. As well as pushing over the stone boundary wall it had grown around one of the gravestones, almost totally enveloping it.

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    1. In France we have a huge ancient Oak Tree that grows above a stone wall. Not a single stone has been dislodged. They obviously get on very well together.

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  7. If they were football teams, I would support Oak Albion ahead of Brick Wall Rovers.

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    1. They've already had extensive 'extra time', and finally Oak Albion has won.

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  8. Beautiful tree. Count me as part of Team Oak!

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  9. The roots of a tree are all powerful. Will consideration be given to arc the wall away from the tree? This might allow both the tree and wall to go on side-by-side averting future wall rebuilds.

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    1. I doubt it. It's a long ancient wall, and I expect it will be re-built exactly as it was.

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  10. Is there a deeper meaning about needing to remain flexible and adapting to change?

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    1. I'm sure there is. And such change is cyclical.

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  11. Beautiful tree. I don't see why, given they know what the tree will continue to do, a flexible wall isn't built to give the tree a break from all that pressure lifting. Curving the road to give the tree room is a good solution, imho.

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    1. I think it would rather spoil the look of the path. I'm sure it will be re-built as it was.

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  12. A wall can be fixed but hope that tree goes on, almost, forever. Its roots certainly did a lot of upheaval

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    1. I see by the photo that it has been re-built previously. Darker bricks had been used lower down to repair an earlier disaster.

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  13. Sorry about the deleted comment Cro, my bad. That tree is magnificent, hopefully the wall will be repaired
    Jo

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    1. Yes, it's a beautiful tree. Many of the bigger trees in the churchyard were blown down in the big storm of 1987. Maybe it was the wall that kept this one standing.

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