This morning the sun, the glorious sun came out, and I watched the early morning rays dapple through the limbs of my live oak tree. "My" tree. It's only mine as long as I live--whom ever comes after me may not respect and love it as much as I. They are not that common which makes them special.
It is a young one, and has many years of growing yet until maturity. They can live to be hundreds of years old. My tree came up and was thriving on the back of my property and I didn't know it was there until hurricanes Ivan and Katrina blew down a lot of trees around it-and there it was.

These majestic trees have become a symbol of the south, and are native only to the Deep South Coastal area. They have a stocky trunk and a huge wide spreading crown. Their leaves are evergreen and remain on the tree year round. In old age, many are festooned with Spanish Moss.

There is one of these magnificent old trees in downtown McLain, the town nearest to where I live. It's had a tough time due to human intervention. A fire department was built behind it and ripped up the ground doing so. Then the town "beautified" the fire dept. by pouring concrete around the base of the tree. The power company cut right through the middle of the crown. When it's gone, it's gone--only then will people realize what has been lost.

susil