We treed three!

Down by the edge of the Bayou sitting almost in the marsh, there is an old man. This old man has been sitting there for as long as I can remember. He sits there day in and day out..never moving..never changing. He sits through the heat of the summer, through the chill of the winter and through any hurricane that passes this way. He is a such a stoic! Always facing the water, his arms are outstretched as if grasping for something just out of reach. Or maybe he is protecting us from dangers untold. This old man has seen many things..many things that we will never see in our lifetime. Oh, the stories he could tell if only he could talk. I am talking about an old Live Oak Tree that is right in the edge of the marsh. Old Man Oak has been a friend to me since I moved to this Bayou. His branches have cradled my children during their playtimes and has provided welcoming shade during hot days. These same limbs block much of the hurricane winds making our home safer. During Hurricane Katrina, I watched as the limbs twisted and turned with the winds, bending to the ground at times. Then when the tidal surge came, the waves literally washed over the topmost limbs. My heart wept as I thought my dear, old friend might not make it this time. I hurt for it. Through it all, Old Man Oak stood his ground solidly, never giving an inch. Afterward, he was battered and broken but lived..he had survived where so many of his friends perished.

This beloved old tree is almost a part of our family..well, as much as a tree can be. My children played in this tree when they were small. There was, at one point, a swing from one large limb and then at another time a rope ladder that made it easier to climb. They loved this old tree..it was "their" tree..one they could climb and be anything their imagination could conjure. Some days, they were pirates and the tree was their ship..other days, they were explorers and the tree protected them from alligators, or bears or whatever. It might serve as a fort or a spaceship.. the old tree could take them wherever their imaginations demanded. And Old Man Oak held them safely in his arms. I love this old tree! (This picture was taken in 1994. My son scanned it and put it on my computer for me. The title of this post is how he labeled the picture. I thought it was so appropriate! We "treed" three! )