A Life Renews

A young Silver Oak tree in the Author's garden

When I started to build my present home more than twenty years ago, it was bereft of trees. Two of the first trees I planted were a cassia tree and a silver oak tree, the first because it grows quickly without care and I was away most times practicing my profession and the second because I have always loved the silver oak tree from childhood. It indeed grew into a handsome tall tree that was a home for many birds and the envy of the street during its somewhat brief life. In 2007 it suddenly dried up. Some trees do that here perhaps because of termites. Many have in my garden over the years but they have been replaced by other trees. However, I never replaced the silver oak because it was precious to me and I felt that nothing else could take it place.

But it must have left some seeds behind, because a few years ago a small sapling sprang up nearby. I left it in but did not hope much future for it because the location was crowded with other growth. Nevertheless it has grown up into a more than ten feet tall young tree. It is not clearly visible in the photo yet but to mark it I have painted some of its still thin trunk red. Either the same tree soul or one close to it has come back is my feeling. Everything that is born dies and everything that dies is born again.

UPDATE October 2015

The Silver Oak has become a large handsome tree now that gladdens the heart, street and home.