A Tale of Two Oaks

 

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.”

― William Blake

 

The picture above was taken in a park by my house. There are two Bur Oaks in this picture.Bur Oaks are one of my favorite tree species-they can easily live 200 years or more if left alone.Very little affects these trees. The wood is incredibly dense, strong and decay resistant. The perfect Oak for the Midwest.

I truly believe every picture does tell a story. I will go a little further and state that every tree tells a story if we slow down, look closely and take the time to study and value them.

The larger tree in the background, to the right in the picture is a fairly mature Bur Oak. Years ago I was a City Forester. I was able to intervene and keep this tree from being cut down on a few different occasions. You might say I have a vested interest in the health and longevity of this particular Oak. When I first learned to climb and prune trees professionally, using rope and saddle-this was the first tree I climbed and pruned. I learned this tree is incredibly old when I was cutting out some large deadwood and began counting rings in the wood. This is not the largest tree in this park, but it is one of the older trees. It grows in an area with quite a bit of limestone in the ground, which has slowed the progression of root growth and root spread. This has had an effect on the size of tree and trunk growth, canopy growth. Growth is slow and measured, you can see it on every branch, every year, a large natural bonsai effect.

I practice martial arts in the shade of this tree-when it's raining, I train under the dry, protective canopy.The acorns this tree produces are massive, the large, mossycup variety associated with Bur Oak trees.This tree is easy to climb and I find myself up in this tree a few times every year, admiring the dark green leaves, muscular branches, the thick grooved bark. This Oak is, quite possibly, one of my favorite trees in the world.

 The smaller Bur Oak in the foreground has great sentimental value to me. I planted this tree when my grandfather died, in his memory. He loved and valued trees all of his life. I learned to fell and cut up trees for firewood from him, how to split firewood. Learned how to prune fruit trees in the small orchard on his farm. He was a wonderful human being, a bright light- filled with knowledge and kindness.I remain forever grateful for the things he taught me, the time I had with him. 

I check on his tree every time I am in this park.This Oak hardly needs checking, it seems unimpressed by insects, disease, wind, rain. Like my grandfather, this tree is tough, stoic- seemingly unaffected by the storms raging around it, defying the wind- there is a lesson here for all of us- taught by a humble tree.