Careful Now....There's a Tree on Monday's Country Back Roads

 

You must admire a town that values their trees so much....

by building the road around it.

 

Surprisingly, there are several small towns, near where I live, that do the same thing.

 

It's the start of another wonderful week, dear readers.

Enjoy yourself.

Meggie Mac

Monday's Country Back Roads

TREES
by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

THINK that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

 

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

 

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

 

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

A quote from Texas A & M Forest Service

 

Tree Description:

 

"A large, stately tree, commonly to 50 feet tall with a short, stout trunk of 4 feet or more in diameter, dividing into several large, twisting limbs that form a low, dense crown that can spread more than 100 feet, the limbs often touching the ground in open-grown settings."

Please click HERE to read how proud we can be of our Texas Live Oaks. I have read they can live 200 or more years....

Meggie Mac

 

Discovering a Coppice Stool

While driving another country back road, near where I live, I saw this tree growing in the middle of a pasture.

Do you see the tree is growing out of the base of a huge cut tree? This is a Coppice Stool.

 It appears the original tree was cut. But, many times it just happens in nature, when a tree has fallen due to damage from storms. If you would like to read more about coppicing click Here.  Another good article, written by Britain's CAT, is Here.

Click on Photo

There is something very magical about a tree like this. It is a chance for the tree to continue to grow. It reminds me of second chances we all get in life.

 If you look closely, you can see a small dark opening at the base of the older tree. I wonder if it might be an open fairy door......

Meggie Mac

Heritage Trees

First came the tree....then came the settlers. And shortly behind the settlers came the town and roads.

This small town in central Texas, population 5,000, is located 7 miles down the bluff from the farm. It is not unusual to turn on a street and come face to face with a large oak tree in the middle of the road.

Obviously, the early citizens of the town believed in saving the trees.  These few photos are just a sampling of the many trees that have been left to grow in the streets.

Even with some damage over the years, trees continue to live.

Sometimes a curb must be extended to allow for growing room.

I've tried to be a good caretaker of the land I live on and respect the trees  that grow here. It makes me proud to know that a small town, in Texas, also cares about it's heritage trees.

Meggie Mac