Which came first? The tree or the rake?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (348960)
Rockingham, Australia
March 22, 2025 3:08am CST
We stayed a night at an endurance ride at Cardiff near Collie in Western Australia. The whole area around Cardiff and Collie has been ‘undermined’ for many years for coal. Now farmers in the area are finding occasional collapses as underground tunnellings cave in.
Near the old hall where we stationed the motor home, was this old hay-rake. Judging by the seat on it, it was once horse-drawn but looks adapted for towing by a tractor.
However, the dead tree is quite substantial and have obviously been there a long time. I guess it grew up through the rake and now the two are inextricably intertwined. Maybe the rake was parked over an young tree or perhaps a sapling grew up through the rake.
15 people like this
11 responses
@DaddyEvil (144043)
• United States
22 Mar
That would be interesting to know... I've seen trees that grew around farm machinery before. On our farm, dad always backed a plow up beside a tree. After dad passed away, nobody bothered plowing anymore. When mom started cleaning up the farm and selling the scrap metal dad had left in different places, she had to get one of the older boys to bring a chainsaw and cut the tree down to get the plow out of it.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (144043)
• United States
24 Mar
@JudyEv I once saw a bicycle a few feet up the trunk of a tree. The tree grew through the frame of the bike and carried the metal up a little ways with it as it grew... Or, that's what it looked like happened, anyway.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (348960)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Mar
@DaddyEvil In the bush near here is a tree that someone cut down and it fell into another tree and they couldn't get it down. And now it's getting higher and higher as the support tree grows. I must see if I can find it again and take another photo.
1 person likes this
@ptrikha_2 (47586)
• India
22 Mar
Whatever be their past, their futures are "intertwined" !!
Looks more like a case of Sapling grown through the stake.
And this looks so prominent that nobody would miss it when passing by.
1 person likes this
@ptrikha_2 (47586)
• India
24 Mar
@JudyEv
A clever Local Tourism department can make such a thing an attraction, especially for Foreign tourists!!
1 person likes this
@ptrikha_2 (47586)
• India
4h
@JudyEv
Well then Tourism department would need to be a lot more innovative!
@Tampa_girl7 (52167)
• United States
22 Mar
My first guess would be that the rake came first.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (113486)
• Marion, Ohio
22 Mar
I have seen that happen. Mother Nature knows how to reclaim her area
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (83324)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
22 Mar
That is interesting like a natural work of art,
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16907)
• Raurkela, India
22 Mar
The rake looks quite old so the plant came later I think.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (142676)
• India
22 Mar
I think they both existed at the same time in that the sapling grew through the rake.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (93068)
• United States
22 Mar
Curious..love that photo though Judy.
1 person likes this
@jobelbojel (36595)
• Philippines
22 Mar
It's difficult for me to tell, but judging by its rust, maybe the rake was there first.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (348960)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Mar
I can't make up my mind. I guess it's one of those things I'll never know.
