Grandmother Oak

Grandmother Oak with Steve for size.

The white oak (Quercus alba) we refer to as Grandmother Oak fell in the windstorm on June 18. She was the largest and oldest tree on the property, with a diameter of 49 inches at breast height. Following two growth rate models, she was estimated to be 245 to 266 to years old. She emerged as a seedling from a small acorn sometime between 1756–1777, and was the only surviving tree from when the Potawatomi lived here and cared for this land. In her long, long life she fed and housed wildlife, sequestered approximately six tons of carbon from the atmosphere, and witnessed the forceful displacement of Potawatomi from this land by European settlers. She will continue to provide nourishment and shelter as she decays and slowly returns to the Earth.
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Pathways will have a liturgy of remembrance for Grandmother Oak on Sunday, July 6, at 7pm.  If you’d like to join, meet in the yard around the picnic table at 7, and we’ll walk back to the site together for a reading of her obituary and a prayer.

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