Trees do not always reach upward

When I went to Peebles Island yesterday, the theme which emerged was that trees do not always point up.  Some had broken branches pointing downward.  I am guessing the reason there were so many broken branches is because of the heavy snow we've had this winter.

A big branch had fallen to the ground on this big old oak.

Basically the same view, but angling toward the sun created a more silhouetted look:

A closer view of the fallen branch, as it angled downward from trunk to ground:

Though the part of the tree that was standing was bare, the part that was on the ground had an abundance of leaves:

Another tree with a broken branch:

It was not only broken branches which caused trees to point other than upwards.  Some were leaning sidways:

Some seemed to curve downward:

This one was both leaning and broken:

Sometimes it was not the trees themselves that seem to go downward, but the vines that were twined around them:

The large sycamore did not point downward at all, but was reaching for the sky: