The Odd, Twisted World of Dead Florida Trees

It is pretty certain you have seen a dead tree if you have hiked through a grove of woods or a trail into the mountains. Those deaths normally appear harmless - a fallen soul who is enjoying a slow and relaxing return to the ground it sprung from. And, for the most part, trees keel over and die the same way in the woods here in Florida. But, trees dying in view of a beach decompose differently. They seem to take the opportunity of being famous in the open exposure by being more dramatic and collapsing into odd, gnarled mandibles or stand proudly longer than they should as the sun and air bleach them into eternity.

Nature enjoys drama - any documentary will tell you so with a lot of slow motion footage and tense music. Florida dead trees are no different with their drama - it just unfolds on a different time scale.