Live Oak, Epworth By The Sea, St. Simons Island, Georgia, July 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
breathtaking live oaks
hold centuries of secrets
red sassafras skies
-posted on red Ravine, Saturday, July 26th, 2008
-related to post: haiku (one-a-day)
Stunning shot… the white wispy things make the great oak look like it’s dancing in the wind. Are those seed pods QM?
H
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What an incredible tree, QM! The wispy things look like Spanish Moss.
I see you have tagged this as a famous tree. What is the story behind it?
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outstanding QM–the last line is excellent!
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beautiful haiku, scot’s right, the last line is astonishingly good………how are things with your brother?
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beautiful photo…I’ve never seen Spanish moss up that close. And your haiku is lovely, as well! Can’t wait to hear all about the trip, and see all the photos! I’m sure you’re enjoying Savannah. Any sign of ancestors yet?
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QM, I came back to this photo this evening. The Spanish Moss makes the tree look like it’s vibrating with energy.
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Hi All, thanks for the great comments. I have had Internet access only sporadically on this trip, so am just checking in. This shot was taken at St. Simons Island on the Georgia coast. We then drove up to Savannah on Saturday and spent a night there. Saw the childhood home of Flannery O’Connor but that’s (hopefully) another post!
I am in gathering mode, more than writing mode, taking photographs and sporadic notes here and there. I was telling ybonesy I remember something Natalie said to us in one of the workshops I took — that there are times of less writing — when a writer is out living in the world, gathering experiences. This is definitely a time of gathering for me. Back in a second to respond to comments. Going for a sip of sweet tea!
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heather, the trees are so alive down in the coastal areas of St. Simons and Savannah. The live oaks are huge and don’t shed their leaves like other oaks. The wisps are Spanish moss (which our Savannah tour guide said isn’t Spanish or moss).
ybonesy, yes, Spanish moss. It’s an air plant that grows on many things here but is most pronounced on the live oaks. This particular tree isn’t famous but the live oak grove among which it stands is part of the Methodist Conference Center, sacred place to many Methodists and those who follow that tradition. The land used to be part of the Hamilton Plantation and was purchased by the center. There was a historian there, Rev. David Ogletree, that helped us out with some of the old historical reference books in their library. We found a few more family history pieces there.
Scot, thank you. I just love saying the word sassafras.
Jo, J. is much better. He’s at home now recovering and resting, trying to restore his health. We hear daily how things are going and the process is a hard one and is slow going — but also hopeful. Lots of family there pitching in, too. And diddy says she is cooking up a storm.
oliverowl, Savannah was great. We didn’t see any ghosts there but there sure are lots of tales of them. We are back in Augusta now and Liz was checking out some of her ancestry links today. I don’t know if we’ll be travelling over the Warren County because the library is closed today. But I think she got a few more links to research. Excavating the past sure takes lots of time!
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ybonesy, yes, lots of energy in the plants, trees, landscape, earth, water, sky in the coastal areas of Georgia. They are teeming with life. I took a lot of shots of the live oaks and they are so massive (hundreds of years old) that they are hard to capture in a single photograph. So you have to try a lot of different angles. I did get a few keepers. I hope to do a post about them later. So much to say, so little time. It all lives inside.
Hope you are doing well over in New Mexico. I tell you, the heat in Georgia is wilting. It saps all the energy out of you. It gets as hot as New Mexico, but the humidity is just unbelievable. I grew up around it as a kid and was telling Liz how hard it was (for someone who doesn’t like heat and sweats a lot like me!).
BTW, Liz was really sweating, too. I’ve never seen her North Dakota skin and bones sweat as much as she has on this trip. It has really been hot and sultry. But I wanted to experience that again. Soaking in the past. 8)
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Skillful photography, QM. At this angle, I get the sense that the tree (and especially it’s Spanish moss) are reaching toward me and soon we will both be covered. I’m not usually inclined in the horror story way, but seeing this photo, I’m thinking that Hitchcock could have made a good movie with Spanish moss.
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breathepeace, thanks. I do think quite a few movies have been made in this neck of the woods, featuring many of these moss covered live oaks. When we got to Savannah we did see the outside of the Mercer home, former home of Jim Williams, one of Savannah’s earliest and most dedicated private restorationists.
Mercer House was the scene of the shooting death of Williams’ assistant, Danny Hansford, a story that is retold in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It’s a big tourist attraction in Savannah. And there are tons of ghostly tours. We were only there a day and night at the end of our trip but we packed a lot into that little amount of time.
One other thing on these trees — there were many famous trees in the area and plaques to honor them. You can feel the history vibrating through them when you touch the ancient bark. At the same time, they are so grounded with massive root systems. And they provided much needed shade on our walks. Trees are so valuable to our ecosystems and in our history. I’m a big fan. 8)
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At the last writing retreat in New Mexico, Wendy Johnson said, “As the trees breathe out, you breathe in. As you breathe out, the trees breathe in.” If I think about this when I am among trees, I can really feel it, the subtle exchange of gasses, trees breathing out oxygen and me drawing it in. Then, me breathing out carbon dioxide and the trees taking it in. It is a beautiful ecology. I like to think of breathing *with* the trees. It fosters a deep sense of inter-connectedness in my heart.
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breathepeace, beautiful. We are hoping to head back over to Magnolia Cemetery today to visit Aunt Cassie’s grave. It is her birthday. There are massive magnolia trees in the ancient graveyard. I will remember what you said in your comment from Wendy Johnson and take a deep, deep breath, a mutual exchange:
“As the trees breathe out, you breathe in. As you breathe out, the trees breathe in.”
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So glad to hear he’s doing better.
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wow.
look at that. What a truly awesome picture.
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