Vivek, I can relate. I've come to the conclusion that flexible spot with fully active touch screen on my a6500 is a bad combination for me. I shot a quick series today without realizing the focus spot had "migrated" towards the lower left corner. That is not the first time this has happened.
Noticed this root while hiking a couple of weeks ago. It is 100 percent natural. A couple with two dogs came by while I was setting up the tripod and they both stumbled over this root (but did not fall, fortunately).