R.I.P. – ‘Pioneer Cabin’ Sequoia Tree

As reported by East County Today,

The Pioneer Cabin Tree, one of California’s oldest tourist attractions and a beloved specimen of a rare California native species, fell Sunday in Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

A combination of trunk and root decay and storm water runoff appears to have brought the giant sequoia down at its base, shattering it and a nearby cedar tree. No one was hurt. The trees fell when the trail to the giant sequoia was closed.

Aesop’s Newest Fable – The Squirrel, the Ant, and the Grasshopper

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

Not to be outdone, the pesky squirrel ambling by decided to jump for the grain bin and help himself.  He missed and hung himself for the winter by his very ownliest nuts.  Ouch!  You can figure out the moral of this story for yourself.

The Æsop for Children – “The Ants & the Grasshopper