Lonesome pine

Walked around the nature reserve today. With the snow almost gone the woodland was mostly dank and gloomy and not very interesting. I realised just how much the snow can add interest and drama during this period of shut-down nature. Then I rediscovered this tiny pine seedling, first found last year. It is no more than 1.5 cm tall, growing in leaf litter that has collected in the cut stump of a Larch tree. This is a section of the reserve where we felled just about all the conifers two years ago, to let in light and promote the native deciduous trees and shrubs. Will this determined little plant manage to survive and succeed eventually in taking the root space left by the dead Larch? So there was a little bit of drama after all.