Alligator Juniper #3 - The Fallen Hero

Another beautiful, somewhat warmer day. (I was smart and wore my coat this time.) About 50 years ago, a wildfire swept through our pretty little canyon. Some of the living trees still bear wounds -- you can still see the charcoal around their roots. A few of the trees didn't make it over the years, of course, and these fallen heroes, many of them alligator junipers, can be found buried in the scrub oak or sitting like monuments in clearings. They lost their bark a long time ago, and their graceful growth lines are now plainly visible.

Here's the one I honored yesterday.

"Fallen Hero," 6.5"x8.5", pastel.