This old cypress stood alone
at the edge of the river for the longest time. Some
time back the open area behind it burned out and
the tree was damaged too. There was a hole blasted
right through the middle of it, but it managed to
keep growing anyway.
Lightning is a force to reckon with during our summer storms, and solitary giants
like this are prime targets for strikes.
Judy and I looked forward to seeing
the tree every time we went out that way. It was always
like seeing an old friend, and we were always inspired
by the way it kept going despite it's wounds.
This cypress was full of beautiful
textures. Look
at the skin of this tree next to the charred wood of the
burn and the bright blue sky!
As
you can see, over the years the tree supported fewer
and fewer leaves, but it still kept going . . . until the hurricanes of 2004. After the storms
we rode out to see how the marsh fared, and this is all
that was left. Standing alone as it did, our old friend
had no protection from the deadly winds of three hurricanes
hitting one right after another.
This old cypress stood alone
at the edge of the river for the longest time. Some
time back the open area behind it burned out and
the tree was damaged too. There was a hole blasted
right through the middle of it, but it managed to
keep growing anyway.
As
you can see, over the years the tree supported fewer
and fewer leaves, but it still kept going . . . until the hurricanes of 2004. After the storms
we rode out to see how the marsh fared, and this is all
that was left. Standing alone as it did, our old friend
had no protection from the deadly winds of three hurricanes
hitting one right after another.
