A casualty of the storm
One of the larger oak trees in the park was viciously felled by Friday's thunderstorm. Rather than being uprooted as is the usual demise of most oak trees in strong winds, she was split in two. Apparently some of her heartwood was rotten and she tore in half. Luckily she fell in such a way that the other trees in the area were mostly spared. What remains is a tower about 15 feet high that eerily resembles the remains of Liam's building. While she was not one of the trees that I felt particularly close to, it was one I liked a lot. I greeted her everyday because she was the first really large tree I would pass in the park. I liked her because of her hollow at the base, which probably contributed to her demise. It seems likely that she would have eventually rotted from the inside out but I'm guessing she still had a few good seasons left in her. The emerging leaves looked very healthy. I'm grateful that my oak up on the hill was spared but I'm mourning, along with her fellow trees, the loss of this giant.