The Beauty and Brutality of Mother Nature.

I moved into my home 20 years ago. We had an amazing oak tree just beyond our back yard that seemed to be our protector. As time went by I noticed that the leaves were not as full as they once were and slowly I watched the health of the tree get worse.

Then along comes Hurricane Sandy; in one night, the weakened tree was devastated by high winds. Perhaps weakened by ill health, the tree snapped in half and most of the limbs were torn asunder. Sadly that was the end of our tree.

However, life goes on. After the 15 foot stump began to decay, we noticed a woodpecker move into a hole in the tree. After a while we saw some baby woodpeckers and the oak once again had a purpose. Over time this hole became home to some squirrels and most recently a family of finches.

However, nature is fickle and during another storm this happened….

The oak finally succumbed and fell to earth – it’s days as a protector of my family and the other families of nature was finally over and it can rest in peace.

Over the twenty years I have witnessed the beauty and brutality of Mother Nature….