A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long.
e. e. cummings

We lost a friend on Monday. Don’t worry it was a tree, although between my family it was always known as “THE OAK” and there was no chance of confusion.

Monday, at about 3:45 a massive storm rolled through, almost no rain but more wind than I have ever seen except when I went through a hurricane on Cape Cod. I was asleep and woke up when the wind blew my box fan out of the window. And I heard a crack and boom.

I must have passed this tree thousands of times and was always impressed and apprehensive because it overhung the road and had been struck by lightning, before the Civil War, I guess. We worried about it falling on someone.

The city cut a rotten oak tree down in the park nearby and claimed it was the oldest in the county, this one was bigger. When it was cleared by the tree service (private road no city help) they left the 15 foot stump as they didn’t have a saw big enough to cut through the trunk, so I can’t count the rings. I don’t know if I could count that high anyway, the one in the park was over 200 years old.

Well, the tree service cleared it so we could get our cars out again but they just used a bobcat to push the trunks and branches down the hill into the woods. That is still a useful end as it will feed other plants. Now there is a big new patch of sunlight in my world that gives me an empty feeling.

You can see “THE OAK” in my picture titled My Driveway It’s the dark shape taking up the right side of the picture. Pictures of the cadaver posted too.