The Great Live Oak
On Nov. 7th I took a small trip to Mobile, Al to visit family and my soul’s home. Though not born and raised completely in Mobile, it’s where I’m from and I love it. It connects me to the world I love. I went down to see family and show my boyfriend where I’m from and why I love it.
Despite being a city, Mobile is teeming with nature. The live oaks that line the streets are a part of the cityscape and even simply the architecture they support. Being built on top of a swamp, Mobile relies on large trees to continue to soak up the flood waters and keep structures secure. These trees also add a serene shade to the entire town. I grew up climbing these trees and would see them get bigger over the years as I’d come to visit. Beinville square in downtown Mobile is filled with these oaks. They fill the small square and allow ample living spaces and food for the squirrels that inhabit it. Not that the squirrels really need the extra food, they are fed daily with peanuts from the peanut shop down the street. I remember coming here with my family as a kid and feeding the squirrels, so my boyfriend and I bought from peanuts from the same shop I went to with my dad and fed the squirrels. One even crawled up Adam’s leg and stayed long enough for me to sketch a quick picture! |
So many of my ideas on life and nature have been shaped by these trees. To me oak trees symbolize strength, support, life, destruction, nature, childhood, and home. I color so many things with the same greens and browns found in the trees and paint and draw them so often. Even though I cannot see them every day, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of one or see something that reminds me of one, or even sometimes base my outfit off of one. They are a part of me.