Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Old Live Oak - Lin Frye


The Old Live Oak
Originally uploaded by linfrye
Daily Practice
Journal

I painted this 700 year old live oak from a photo we took while we were in Charleston, SC several weeks ago. I painted it in my journal and I hope to redo it in a larger format. It was a really good practice for 'next time!' LOL

So many of the live oaks along the South Carolina coast have reached these massive proportions and gnarley, wild shapes. Their evergreen leaves and annual acorns make them an anomaly among other Quercus (oak) species. The trees often support Spanish moss, a small-sized orchid and resurrection fern, plus dozens of various wildlife - both as a 'home' and as a source of food. The live oak was the timber used for the construction of the USS Constitution.

Those living with these trees have many incredible tales to tell about them - and these giant trees have been used from storage units (when hollow) to meeting places, to jungle gyms..... I collected many of these 'tree stories' when I worked on my research projects ... and the people and the trees continue to be fascinating!

We've got meetings from sunup until dark tonight and much driving between .. so I"ll be scarce. I hope to catch up tomorrow!

Hope your day is grand! Hug a tree or two while you're out!

Lin Frye
North Carolina

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