The Trunkless Trees

In December of 1677, Fluvio Nortnoodle was still on the southern shore wandering aimlessly, desperately trying to find The Octopus Box, the mythical box from which he believed "all the little bastards were crawling out of", when an unprecedented winter tempest came blowing up out of the southern sea. Fluvio retreated inland for three days straight with no sleep or rest, constantly being pummeled by the fierce wind and a barrage of sleet and snow. When the weather finally abated, Fluvio collapsed exhausted in the snow. When he finally woke again, it was late in the afternoon and he stood to the most incredible sight. He was standing in the middle of the last trunkless tree forest. Everywhere around him was a canopy of evergreen foliage, but nowhere did it reach the ground. He would tell his friend and contemporary, Wise van het Hol later, that "trunkless trees are a thing of the present and the past, not the future." When Wise pushed him to explain, he just guffawed and said incredulously "do you really think there is anyone from the future who will be able to figure out how to plant the seeds in the air?" Fluvio would spend the next 22 years perfecting the art of making paper from the trunkless trees. He would eventually paint his masterpiece I Don't Believe In True Stories (1699) using only The One True Color on trunkless tree paper.

In 1907, a five year old by the name of Ansel Adams snapped the picture (above left) of the last trunkless tree. He would later go on to a prolific career in outdoor photography.