Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. 
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. 
The winds will blow their freshness into you, and the storms their energy, 
while cares will drop off like falling leaves.
~ John Muir

Snags are large dead trees. Freddy B thought this fallen snag  was a great spot to roost and take a break.

Standing snags make ideal roosting perches and nesting sites for both songbirds and  raptors. These raptors have nothing to do with those reptilian nasties in the movie, Jurassic Park, but are birds of prey, like eagles, hawks, falcons, ospreys and owls.  

Providing unobstructed, foliage-free vantage points of the surrounding areas, snags allow the spotting of the raptor's next meal, sometimes from a half mile away!

Off to the left of the marker is a pointed snag trunk with holes near the top.  Those holes are year-round homes of nesting Pygmy Nuthatch -- the only bird that walk down a tree trunk as they look for grubs in the cracks of the snag.

Snags are also the "dinner table" for woodpeckers searching for bugs to eat.    

Snags are the literal "hot-spots" of the forest ecosystem, integral to biological diversity. They are of enormous value to mammals, birds, amphibians and reptile by providing food, safe nesting sites in the form of cavities and platforms, roosting and denning sites, hunting perches, display stations, and foraging sites for a wide variety of species.

Some birds and mammals will only nest in snags. For these species, they are truly home, sweet home.

How do they provide food?  They are teeming with insects -- beetles, borers, millipedes, mites, earwigs, beetles, spiders, ants, and even earthworms.  They also provide a perfect growing medium for fungi. These parasites that feed off the weakened, dying or the dead serve an important role in helping the forest recycle its nutrients.

The biodiversity in a snag is simply amazing!  A snag teaches us about the interrelationships among living things and between those living things and their non-living environment.

In death, these snags give life to the forest.

Here's a snag that is an excellent human perch.  Come sit a spell and breathe. The crisp, clean mountain air is a godsend any time in the year.

 Ahhhhhhh...

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