Sunday, November 10, 2013

The Angel Tree

We are staying just outside of Charleston, South Carolina this week. On our way home from seeing the H. L. Hunley, we decided to take a detour with no particular destination in mind. We ended up in Johns Island, SC where we started noticing signs for Angel Oak "this" and Angel Oak "that." All of the sudden I was reminded of a NPR story that I saw a month ago about the development threat to a huge oak tree that has been around for hundreds of years called the Angel Oak. After a quick internet search on my smartphone, I realized we were in fact in the vicinity of that Angel Oak and set it as the new destination in the GPS. 

My husband had not heard anything about it and was particularly surprised when we we drove up. This sprawling live oak (Quercas virginiana) tree has branches the size of tree trunks; many of which are braced with supports. (If you were over 400 years old, you'd need a cane or two as well!) It is a thing of beauty and history. Just think, it has witnessed not only the founding of our nation but the colonization of a continent. 





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