Stumped

Let's take a break from the cold and the snow and take a look back to a sunny day about a week ago.  On a walk through Cates Park, I came across this dancing tree stump.

Is it just me, or does this look like a female figure? 

I may be barking up the wrong tree or even barking mad, but I really think there is something quite magical, perhaps even mystical about this Formerly Known as Tree creature.

Look at her markings, as distinct as tattoos;

and her character lines, wrinkles and bumps that skin is prone to as it ages;

look how she grips the ground with her knobby toes.

But most mystifying of all is what must be her navel.

If we flip the image on its side, a most mysterious creature appears...

It has the look of a cave drawing: "primitive" art.

Certainly an animal. But which?

A wild boar, perhaps (though there are none in these parts);

or maybe a porcupine, judging by the quills.

Do you see it?

Or do you see something else altogether?

While you ponder this, why don't you climb up into the lifeguard's chair and sit awhile.

As the sun begins to set,

 tell me if you don't feel something a little mystical in the air. 



PS. As I look at the first image of the "navel" this morning, I see a bearded unicorn, viewed from above,galloping down a road, mane flying in the wind as it looks over its left shoulder. How many others see this, I wonder...