Geo 365: June 14, Day 165: Solitary Sapling

Yet another one of those astonishing pines... you walk by, and wonder how in heaven and earth these things hang on with absolutely nothing going for them. It's tempting to flip over a boulder or two to see if there's *any* soil in their root zone at all. Of course, that would almost certainly be fatal for the tree, so the temptation is passing. In the end, I can't help but being awed and deeply respectful for an organism that can survive such a terribly hostile habitat.

Photo unmodified. August 21, 2011. FlashEarth location.