Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Oak Trees and Spirits

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This oak tree is on the side of the old dirt road on the property. Oak trees are so majestic, and I often wonder about the stories they would tell if they could only speak. Or do they speak? My mind certainly weaves tales of what the oak has witnessed. This property was once part of a Legare family plantation. The house seen in the background was a sharecropper's cabin after 1865. We use it now for storage, but what was its purpose before the war ended? Was this oak tree part of that setting? How many hurricanes has the oak experienced? The huge knots that have been left behind by decayed or ravished branches and the large exposed roots on the ground beneath make me believe that the oak has been here for quite some time and is older than its trunk size reveals. Did people of other times sit beneath its limbs and wonder exactly what I am wondering now?
                 There are presences on this land. There are no evil feelings here, only good. It is as if these spirits realize that we love the land as much as they must have. I have felt them while walking in the woods, in the cabin, and by the barn. An elderly gentleman rocks in his chair in the upstairs of the cabin seen here. I have heard him rocking and after questioning the prior owners, I believe he is their grandfather who was born, lived, and died on this property and in this house. If this tree could only speak to me...

2 comments:

  1. Wow! What a beautiful place you live in..where is it? Thanks for following my blog Lessons from the Monk I Married. I just took a walk in Seattle with a friend who showed me all the magnificent oak trees around here. I'll have to pass your blog along to her! Looking forward to reading more. I'm following you on Networked Blogs and Google.

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  2. Johns Island, SC (just south of Charleston). I love your blog!

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