The genesis of this project, like so many of my projects, has its roots in the death of a beloved tree and the desire to honor the beauty of what remained. The old-growth White Oak that stood for well over a century on my aunt’s property, had shaded her house for my entire life and was the location of some truly epic tree houses during our childhood, had been a landmark long before we moved to what we called “the Land” in 1976. In 2016, I tore down my aunt’s old impractical home and built her a new home about 30’ away from the old oak so she could comfortably age in place. A new home where she could lie in bed and gaze out her windows at the majestic spread of this tree. We always used this oak as the true gauge to the changing seasons. When the old oak dropped her leaves, you knew Fall has started and winter was coming and when she budded out you knew the short Texas winter was over. Unfortunately, after a mild winter the old tree budded out in January of 2021 and got caught in the terrible freeze we had here in February of 2021. Like many oaks that year, the new growth was utterly killed, and the tree experienced a fatal die back over the next couple years despite our best hopes and efforts.
In March 2023 I felled the massive tree and parted up the smaller pieces into firewood, the substantial main branches created massive logs filled with burls that will be sectioned up and milled into cordwood and slabs for tabletops. Some of these branches are over 36” through the center. The main trunk is 10’ of beautiful oak, 42” through the center and as the weather cools, I will take my mill over to my aunt's house and start the milling process.
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