Beautiful Oak tree

Beautiful oak tree
home to many living things
is a home no more


When we first moved to the wilds of Texas our land was covered in Oak trees and Yaupons. We cleared out the Yaupons where we built our home and left the biggest Oaks that weren't in the way. I love trees, they are some of my most favorite things on this planet.

I had a favorite Oak tree who stood just to the left of my deck. He was big and beautiful, tall and straight...proud is the word that I would use to describe him. Although he was quite beautiful on his own I decorated him with a terracotta half moon and put wind chimes in his branches. One day, four years ago I went out on the deck and noticed small pieces of bark all of over it and realized my beautiful Oak was in serious trouble.

The droughts in Texas have claimed the lives of many Oak trees. I've consistently lost 2 to 4 every year and sadly my beautiful Oak was one of the drought's victims. What the drought does is weaken the Oaks to the point where invaders move in, attacking them, sucking out their life's juices. I did everything I knew how to do to save my beautiful Oak but nothing worked....he died regardless of my best efforts.

I begged my husband to please cut down my beautiful Oak but he never did...my Oak's dead carcass is still there for me to see and to hurt for what he once was. Oddly enough much of his bark has stayed on and though no leaves remain he is still tall and straight and to me...beautiful.

Today I decided my beautiful Oak would live once again. I planted fragrant Moon flower vines around his base to adorn his beautiful, straight trunk. The vines will be allowed to climb as high as they like, 30 ft. of big green leaves and huge fragrant white blossoms, 6 in. across. The vines will bloom every evening and when the moon is full it will look like there are lights hanging on my beautiful Oak. The air around him will be fragrant with the heady scent of moon flowers. I took out the wind chimes I made for him and they will once again make music in his branches, reminding everyone who passes by to look and see what a beautiful tree he is. I will hang the terracotta half moon back up where it belongs. I've put bird houses on him so that the birds may live in his branches as they once did, raising their young to take their first flight from the security of his embrace.

My beautiful Oak will live once again and be almost as beautiful as before.