Farewell to the Oak tree by the Mailbox
See that lovely tree on the far right—and the bed of ragweed on the right side?
That tree shades the mailbox on the farm where we stay when we are working on our farm house. It has a seat around it–and frequently the mailman will get out of his car, sit on the bench and eat his lunch or snack on the treats my friend leaves in the mailbox for him.
But this week, a huge rain storn with high winds swept through and the tree toppled over. It is a huge tree but it was quite hollow inside. Fortunately a neighbor wants the tree for firewood this winter. Across the Mississippi, the little town of Marquette Iowa did not fare well, old brick buildings with lots of history were torn apart and now lie amidst a pile of crumbled bricks.
Still it will be so sad not to see that tree welcoming me to a place that has become a dear and cherished place.
Sylvia Weir Art 
From over 20 years ago,I still remember the huge pile gray ,dead Oak trees on a country road near Georgetown, Texas.
It was like an elephants grave yard.
My condolences on the lose of your dear tree,
One of the most remarkable things to see was the number of trees destroyed by Hurricane Rita and the number of large trucks hauling them to a large field–twenty or more trucks hauling to a strip of land a couple of miles long and burning. The only good thing was when Ike hit two years later, there weren’t so many trees but still quite a few. We have live oaks here that live for hundred years or more–and can have trunks eight to ten feet across.