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A beuatiful tree up the hill from here
As the single trunk of a madrone tree dies, it often spawns several smaller trees in a ring. Very often you'll see a trio of madrones growing quite close because of this, and sometimes you'll see a group that's old enough to begin merging into one again.

This tree is among the most spectacular examples. The original trunk was huge, and the five offshoots are now large trees in themselves. It also has a personality and a presence that's really special.

I took a bunch of photos of this tree without feeling like I was able to capture that. But I did get some pictures I liked.

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I love madrone colors. Madrones are native to northern California and don't grow elsewhere that I know of. They look like they're related to manzanitas with rough and smooth bark alternating. When photographed, the colors always seem to come out more extreme and contrasting whereas in real life they are even more subtle and somehow really appropriate together, while still so brilliant as to be almost surreal. (comments and photo)

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