Filed under: September 2013 | Tags: giant oak tree, goodbye my old friend, lady of the forest
My boys, standing on an amazing old friend
September 6, 2013
This giant oak tree has been standing for well over 250 years or more. It took five adults to reach around her trunk. The size of her canopy was had to believe, at somewhere between 50 to 70 feet across. We all often considered all of the things the old matron had seen and lived through.
The trunk of the massive tree shows the problem. Rot had taken over all but the last four inches of her trunk. Just like cancer can drop the largest man, rot layed waste to this huge asset to our farm. The deer will miss her abundant sweet acorns, along with the turkeys and squrriels alike.
We nicknamed the old tree “Wy-wonna” after a story my son read in school. The name is supposed to mean, “The old one.” It was a fitting tribute to the aging lady of the forest. She was a landmark on our farm a place with almost as much comfort or identity as the barn.
There was no storm, no wind, nothing that I can say pushed the old girl down. She simply just got tired of living. The sky is open in a big way, where she stood. It is my hope that one of the small saplings from her seed, will one day fill her missing space, after all, isn’t that what we all want? Our seed to one day take our place, make a difference and live long and prosper?
There will be a mountian of firewood from the old tree. She will warm our bodies for a long time, but warm our hearts forever. “Goodbye, my old friend.”
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