The tree is more than first a seed,
then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a
slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
It’s hard to describe the feeling I got when I
first saw this magnificent tree. At
first, I wanted to just stand and stare at it.
Then I got an indescribable urge to touch it and feel the life within
it. It is truly a force of nature, the
Angel Oak. This gorgeous old live oak
tree is purportedly the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi River. Its branches stretch to a diameter of 160 feet. The circumference of its trunk is almost 25
feet and it covers 17,100 square feet of ground. Simply magnificent!
It is hard to believe that over the years, man has
not found a reason to get rid of this old tree.
The fact that is it is still around and lovingly tended gives me
hope. “Recorded history traces the
ownership of the live oak and surrounding land back to the year 1717 when
Abraham Waight received it as part of a small land grant. The tree stayed in the Waight family for four
generations and was part of a Marriage Settlement to Justus Angel and Martha
Waight Tucker Angel.” It is now in a
public park.
I have to thank my cousin-in-law, Joyce P., for
nudging us to drive out to look at this wonderful tree. Thanks, Joyce! It was well worth it.
So I managed to mangle the alphabet putting the “B” before the “A” but I don’t think anyone really cares.
