Oak and Ivy

The 2nd December was a golden winter day.  The kind where the sun hangs low in the sky, lighting all at a theatrical angle. 

Now the tree has lost most of its leaves, the structure is more visible.  The base of this oak is decked out in ivy.  Kind of seasonal but I am sure it would rather not have this decoration.  The ivy is scrambling sky-ward, clambering over itself in its effort to reach the light.

The epicormic growth is the little cushions of extra leaves that pop out on oaks when there is enough light hitting the bark.  These result in the cats-paws effect on planked wood.  It makes it more interesting in my view, but the french, for instance, prefer their oak planks featureless and therefore grow the trees closer together and dark.