A 350 Year Old Live Oak Tree

This morning my work took me to Opelousas, Louisiana, a small town sitting on Highway 190 between Eunice and Krotz Springs and nestled right on the outskirts of the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge.  Between jobs, we opted to visit the Palace Cafe for a cup of coffee.  Walking in was like stepping back in time to the 1960's.  A handwritten menu by the cash register announced the lunch specials on the steam table:

Fried Chicken

Chicken Stew

Field Peas

Broccoli & Rice Casserole

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Mustard Greens

Cornbread

We took our seats in a booth and spotted a waitress talking to another lady stirring food on the steam table and called her over.  With a stern look, she put her hands on her hips and said, "Can't you see I'm busy?" Then she burst into a big smile, walked over and said, "What can I get for you, sweetheart?"  Time slowed to a snail's pace as we visited and sipped on strong black coffee that you could stand a spoon up in.  The cup never got half empty before the waitress refilled it with steaming hot coffee.

As we exited the Palace Cafe and walked eastward about 20 feet, I spotted a huge live oak tree that created cool shade for a whole city block.  It was the Jim Bowie Oak with a historical marker.  The tree is 350 years old.  That means it began growing in the year 1667.  That kind of makes you scratch your head.  If that tree could talk... Jim Bowie likely sat under this tree and enjoyed coffee while he sharpened his famous Bowie knife and told tales of his adventures.  Sadly, he never returned from the Alamo.  Anyway, I copied the inscription of the historical marker below, if you can't read it.

Jim Bowie Oak

This giant live oak tree is over 350 years old and is named in honor of legendary adventurer and hero of the Battle of the Alamo, Colonel James "Jim" Bowie, who lived in Opelousas for part of his life.

The Jim Bowie Oak is a charter member of the Louisiana Live Oak Society. The Jim Bowie Courtyard, located behind the oak, is built on the site of what is believed to be a blacksmith shop belonging to Bowie.

I've watched both movies of The Alamo, the 1960's version starring John Wayne and the 2004 version starring Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton.  The bravery and valor of a band of heroic men (Texians and a band of volunteers from Tennessee) as they made a last stand against General Santa Anna's men always fascinates me. Those guys seem larger than life... Davy Crockett, William Travis, Jim Bowie...

I love this quote and its message of courage and conviction:

"I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. VICTORY OR DEATH."  excerpt from William B. Travis's letter To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World

 In THIS POST FROM NOVEMBER 2015 I tell of our history with the Alamo.  Tricia and I were engaged in San Antonio and that post, if you click on it, tells the sad story of an oak tree we grew from acorns I picked up on the day we were engaged 25 years ago from one of the Alamo oaks and how we are trying again 25 years later with another.

Below is a photo of that oak.  While it's not quite as impressive as the Jim Bowie oak, and is only 16 months old versus 350 years old, it is a touchstone.  

Surrounded by a world in which everything is disposable, temporary, and fleeting, it is nice to have an oak tree or a marriage that stands the test of time.  Remember the Alamo, indeed.

When One Tree Comes Down...

Plant another in the Ground!  Yesterday we talked about taking down a dead tree in the side pasture. It is time to plant a tree or two to take its place.  The one that died was a water oak tree that has about a 70 year lifespan.  I like planting either fruit trees or live oaks, the former gives you food to eat and the latter provides longevity and plenty of shade.

It just so happens that I have a nice looking live oak tree that I planted from an acorn that has some special meaning to me.  I discussed that tree as well as others in THIS PREVIOUS POST.  This one has sentimental value to me and I call it our "Laura Lee" tree, after our oldest daughter and to me, represents victory and survival.  It was a beautiful Saturday and was a little cool, so we started a nice fire roaring with the remnants of the tree we had taken down. While the coals of the dead tree burn down, we'll put another tree to take its place in the ground.

Burn, baby, burn

The live oak tree we'll put in the ground is one I planted from an acorn seven (?) years ago, maybe.  I keep putting it in larger and larger pots as it grows and it has been in the flower bed in the back yard. Large tap roots grew out of the bottom of the pot and Russ and I had to dig them out and cut a few in order to free it from the ground.  I loaded the tree, some potting soil, some chicken litter and a shovel into the garden wagon and took it into the pasture.

Everything we need in the wagon

We picked out a spot to plant this live oak about 15 feet south of where the other tree had grown. Since it is by the garden, it will give nice shade from the morning sun, still leaving enough sunshine for the garden from about 11 am until it sets in the western sky.  We did some quick ciphering and calculated that by the time this tree grows to completely shade out the garden, we'll be about 125 years old and by then, we probably won't have the energy to garden at that age.  Maybe we'll downsize the garden at that age and just grow a small patio garden.  (Ha ha!)

We cut the plastic pot away from the "Laura Lee" live oak tree and then cut off a fork in the tree so it would grow straight and not have a weak spot.

We dug a nice hole a little bit deeper and wider than the circumference of the root ball.

One other sentimental thing about this tree is that it contains some Spanish moss that I borrowed off of a live oak on the LSU campus.  A couple of years ago, I draped it around the tree, but over the course of time, wind and rain blew it away.  I was pleased to see that at least a little bit of the Spanish moss attached itself to the little trunk of the tree and is flourishing.  Pretty cool, I think.

Spanish Moss in a live oak tree

Benjamin and Tricia pose by the newly planted live oak tree.  We'll keep it watered and take good care of it.

In addition to digging the hole for the tree, I'm diggin' Tricia's cowboy hat.

One other thing we had to do is position cattle panels around it to separate it from hungry goats and cows that would aim to eat every single green leaf off of the fledgling live oak.

As the dead, cut up oak tree sits in the foreground with its life over, a new beginning takes place as a live oak is ready to fill the void.

I think that I shall never see,

A poem as lovely as a tree...  -Joyce Kilmer

From Acorns Come Mighty Oaks!

"Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn." - William Arthur Ward

Driving into the driveway this afternoon, I felt/heard a familiar sound underneath the car tires.  That sound would be hundreds or even thousands of acorns being crushed.  Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.  The live oak trees are dropping them by the thousands, and they cover almost every square inch of ground in various stages, from bright green to dark brown in color.

When we're in the barn milking the cows, the acorns fall and hit the tin roof of the barn, making a loud bang, startling us, but not the cows.  They are too busy eating. The acorns are gathered up by the numerous squirrels in our yard and eaten and/or buried in the ground.  In the spring, Tricia pulls a bunch of live oak seedlings out of the flower beds.  I'll generally replant some healthy live oak seedlings into pots to grow some live oak trees to replant.

Usually, though, I'll forget to water them in the summer and many of the young live oaks in my little gallon pots die due to my neglect.  As I walk across the yard this time every year, I am amazed at the power contained in those little acorns.  From just a small seed, a giant oak emerges that lasts for generations.  If those oaks could talk, oh the stories they could tell!

We live in a world where you get most anything immediately.  Everything is convenient.  Just drive through the drive-thru window and pick up your fried chicken, prescriptions, doughnuts, etc.  Drive up to the ATM and get your cash. You don't have to wait for anything.  All of our desires can be met immediately and this drives us to want and consume more and more.

You still have to wait, however, for a stately oak tree to grow.  Mature live oak trees aren't something that grows overnight.  It all begins with an acorn.  That tiny acorn holds the potential of such immense beauty and strength.  To me the wonder of the acorn points to our Great Creator.

Here is the beautiful crown of a live oak in our backyard.  All of this came from a tiny acorn!

Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.  -Genesis 13:18

God created these mighty trees and they stand, sometimes for ages!  The photo below is a picture that is believed to be the Oak of Mamre mentioned in Genesis 13:18 and is near Hebron in the Palestinian territories.  Many believe the tree is where Abram entertained the three angels in Genesis 18:2 and think this tree is around 5,000 years old.  The main trunk of the tree is dead, but a shoot sprouted off of it and now grows.

Permanence.  Stability.  Strength!

"Oak of Mamre 1" by Copper Kettle

I found a few facts from THIS LINK about acorns and live oaks that were very interesting to me:

• An average 100 year old oak produces 2,200 acorns a year.  (Seems low considering the amount of acorns on the ground, but I'm sure our trees are a lot older than 100 years.)
• Only 1 acorn in 10,000 will grow up to be an oak tree.  (The survival rate goes down considerably if one of those was one I planted in a pot!)
• The USS Constitution was made out of lumber from a live oak tree.  This vessel became famous in the War of 1812 after canonballs bounced off of its hull.  That's why they called it "Old Ironsides".
• The "Seven Sisters Oak" in Lewisburg-Mandeville, Louisiana is believed to be the oldest living live oak in North America.  It measures 37 feet, 2 inches in circumference and is believed to be over 1,000 years old!

They say big things come in small packages sometimes.  This is certainly true of the acorn!