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One spot I almost always stop and visit is along the road back from the fire tower. Here in a small vignette - a window - into the life cycle of a forest is the tall stump of a fallen tree and a batch of new growth that has burst forth into the opening in the forest.

	Moss covered stump.  The foreground is covered by a thick (6 inch plus) layer of sphagnum moss and a number of small white pine shoots.
Some small birch trees grow atop the stump of the fallen white pine tree/
	Moss covered log.
Fungus participating in the decay process.  It sits atop the moss covered upper surface of a fallen log.
	Small ferns, lichens and moss grow in a crevice on the moss covered tree stump.
Moss growing on the dead tree stump.
	Small birch and hemlock seedlings grow among the branches of a fallen white pine log.
Small birch and hemlock seedlings grow among the branches of a fallen white pine log.  New white pine seedlings grow from the mossy ground in the background.
	White pine seedlings growing in the wet, moss covered ground in the opening created by the fallen tree.
Fungus growing on the large upright stump in the area.
	Another view of the fallen logs, stumps, moss, and various seedlings growing in the canopy opening.
A section of a the fallen log to the left showing more advanced decay and moss growth.
	Another view of small birch and hemlock seedlings growing among the branches of a fallen white pine log.  New white pine seedlings grow from the mossy ground in the foreground.
Birch seedlings growing atop the fallen log.

I plan to spend a full day sometime documenting the various species that are springing up around the fallen stump. For now the images above will serve.

Ed Frank