A loblolly pine sapling

The greenery that you saw in the background of the last photograph came from healthy new loblolly pines, Pinus taeda, that authorities have been planting as a long-term measure to bring back the forest that burned down in the terrible fires that began on the Labor Day weekend of 2011 in Bastrop, some 30 miles east of Austin. This picture from September 6th of the current year looks almost straight down at the tip of one of those pine saplings. The pattern created by all those undulating needles emanating from a darker hub—which wasn’t burned but could symbolize burning—intrigued me.

© 2013 Steven Schwartzman