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Many of us at Boxerwood have been watching the Great Oak, our wise elder tree, as it went through changes, large and small. But this weekend, after saturation of the soil and gusty winds, our great Shumard oak has fallen.
It's the end of one era, but the beginning of an entirely new chapter for the tree that has always been home to birds, insects, squirrels, and snakes within branches and crevices. Now, on the ground it will become habitat for even more species. Unlike our fragile bodies, the wood of a tree resists the passage of time and can continue for years as something new.
Those of us with a knowledge of trees have also watched the great oak with some apprehension, knowing every brace installed or dead limb removed was just a stay for the inevitable. Some trees take ages to die and fall apart from the very smallest branches to become a standing snag. This might have happened to the Great Oak if its roots had been deeper and wider. It's hard to tell, even for experts, when and how a tree might go.
We are shocked and saddened because we knew this tree had more stories to tell. The weddings it has witnessed under its sweeping canopy. The children who have grown up listening to stories in its shade. Many have returned with their own children to play on the uneven pieces of the last giant limb that fell in 2021. From stalwart in its sentry over the garden to soft as it provided dappled shade and beauty to wandering visitors. This tree was here before the Mungers. Before Boxerwood was Boxerwood. Standing solitary in a farm field and watching as other trees grew up around it since before the first World War, the Great Depression, and before any of us were born.
We know so many people also have stories that revolve around the Great Oak. . . Trees, especially special, extraordinary trees can become a cornerstone of memory and a way to feel our shared compassion and empathy. Please share your words or pictures with us by or tag #loveboxerwood with your own reflections.