Dormant Oaks on Haehl Creek

A few years ago, a visitor from Silicon Valley came up for a business meeting, and her first question, with a great deal of alarm, was to ask what terrible disease had beset all the dying trees in the area. It eventually dawned on me that she was referring to all the lichen festooning the dormant oaks up here. Some stands of trees are completely verdigris with them, and because it was not yet time for oak leaves to re-emerge, she was sure these harmless epiphytes were some blight upon the land. I was able to assure her that lichen is not parasitic, and that the oaks were perfectly healthy. Lichens thrive where there are few manufactured air pollutants, which was why she was so unfamiliar with them. This is a subdivision lot waiting for a home builder at the south end of town.
Dormant Oaks Jigsaw Puzzle