Famous lone tree....lonely Santa! - a photo on Flickriver

Now let me explain in a bit....once I have had a hot bath to relax cold and aching limbs.

(By the way here is a festive song for everyone. It's silly, but I like silly!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtF56bXvUo

.........................OK, I am sat down now with a bottle of appropriately named Santa's Butt (winter porter) 6% beer and am ready to write a little.

Having suggested that this famous tree should be adorned festively for Christmas, and given a little love as it is so lonely and frequently half drowned, I and my co-conspirators hung baubles on the tree last Saturday. And we left them there hoping they would raise a smile from those who saw the tree. There are so many photos taken of this tree, which are largely the same given varying weather conditions, I just felt it would be nice, as a surprise, for others if we gave it a little festive decoration. However I hadn't thought of those travelling overnight to photograph the tree exactly the same as everyone else and I hadn't taken into account the David Attenborough effect with Blue Planet II on TV and the heightened awareness of plastic getting into the sea.

Unfortunately the fixings on B&M's best baubles are an example of you get what you pay for and a few fell off into the water. Fortunately these seem to have been collected by poor people in the area, and in some sort of reverse charitable manner, we have helped brighten the lives of many at this time of year of giving.

But in retrieving the baubles I did think I should take the opportunity to take a seasonally unique photo of the famous lone tree, one like no one else has (as far as I am aware). Sadly, since putting it on flickr, I have already been called a freak, weirdo and mental by my closest family and I appear to be looking at an enforced Christmas on my own.

I had had ambitions of hanging from a branch like a bat for this photo but the trunk of the tree is surprisingly slippery and my attempt had me over balance so that only cat-like reactions had me land on my feet in the water instead of sat down in the lake in my Santa costume. Unfortunately my self-timer had already run it's sequence and my pathetic acrobatics were not recorded.

And the day hadn't even started so well either. I had arrived at the causeway to Llanddwyn island knowing it would be high tide at that time, which is why I had laboured all the way along Newborough beach in my oversized Wellington boots. But try as I might, carrying Darcy in my arms like a big baby, the water was too deep, and when the sea flooded over the top of my boots on my third and most determined attempt we retreated to the forest for another hour with cold wet feet, and that horrible sucking sound you get when your foot moves around inside a water filled boot.

But Llanddwyn is special. Unsurprisingly we had the whole island to ourselves, and then the sun started to come out. There is possibly no more beautiful place than this when the sun shines, and despite the cold, strong wind, and the thought that I was missing out on the Christmas shopping that millions of other people would be doing, I considered myself one of the luckier men alive.....just to be there.

So if my family won't talk to me over Christmas, and no one else is interested in me dressing up for them, I may just have to head back down to North Wales again for the third weekend on the trot. Penguin, Santa? Anything else you would like? Quote me the costume and location and I will see what I can do. Or, if you are as brave as me, do it yourself and stick your picture on flickr. And make us all smile!

By the way, Santa's Butt is very nice. I might have another bottle of it.

(And if anyone feels embarrassed to be associated with me please do not feel obliged to comment)

Taken in: United Kingdom / Wales / Fachwen (show map)

Taken on: December 16, 2017

Tags:

llyn padarn

Lone tree

father christmas

snowdonia

llanberis

baubles

lake

reflection

fun....remember that?

santa

north wales

freak

weird

no baubles anymore

ho ho ho

selfie

smile

~flickrinnes

#flickrinnes

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Camera: Nikon D610, f/11.0, 1/60 sec, 27mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D610
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	27mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	+1 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Embettered by PicMonkey. http://www.picmonkey.com
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