A photo posted on Facebook shows an image of an orange smiley face in the middle of a forest.
A caption states “David Hampton planted larch trees in the Douglas fir forest in Oregon to create a smiley face. It returns each fall and makes a happy showing.”
This image is real.
The face appears every autumn in the Hampton Lumber forest between the towns of Grand Ronde and Willamina in Oregon.
According to reports it was designed and planted in 2011 by the Hampton Lumber co-owner David Hampton and its then timberland manager Dennis Creel.
The eyes and mouth are made of Douglas fir while the yellow of the face comes from larch trees.
The larch tree needles turn yellow and fall off in autumn creating the image of the face.