A Very Old Lady

This is the Angel Oak Tree on Johns Island, SC. She is said to be around 700-1000 years old. (In SC, we don't worry about being too scientific, what's a few hundred years difference?)

As you can see, she is pretty large. She also has crazy branches that twist, and look as though they are writhing very, very, very slowly.

Live oak trees have unusual branching habits. They grow toward the sky, but after a certain point, they start heading back toward the ground. The Angel Oak is a perfect example of this wonderful tendency, as many of her dozens of coiling branches snake accross the leaf-littered earth underneath.

Live oak trees are evergreen. Their leaves are about one inch long and shaped like an almond.

This is one of my favorite places in Charleston. Admission is free. You can bring a notebook and draw or write poetry, and people actually leave you alone.

The kind of people who visit this tree are my favorite kind. They are secret naturalists. They are mystified by the simple green world that surrounds them. They whisper to each other because you can hear the Angel Oak softly swaying and breathing, and it just makes you want to be quiet and listen.

The Angel Oak lives on a barrier island of the Atlantic Ocean. Can you imagine how many severe hurricanes she has survived?