The Hollow Log

Walking through the woods the other day I came across a large hollow log balanced on the bank of a creek.  It was almost 3 feet in diameter and much of it had been broken.  It stretched 12 feet long or longer from end to end.

It appeared to be the remains of a white oak, although it was difficult to tell.  White oak are common in the area and one of the few trees that grow tall and straight to such a large size.  The creek on which this fallen giant lay is a feeder to what is known as "White Oak Bottom" which is the tree and brush-choked course of White Oak Creek winding eastward a short distance to the south.

To be that size, the tree was likely over 50 years old.  It had withstood wind, flood and drought, but it was unable to withstand the constant attack of the insects which are probably what felled it.  Most likely it had lain for many years somewhere along the course of the creek until decay left only a shell which became light enough to float along the frequently flooded waterway to the point where it lodged along the bank.

I'm sure that while it lived it provided shelter for birds and squirrels and food in the form of acorns for the same as well as for deer, feral hogs and other wildlife which break open the hard shells for the nutritious meat of the nut.  It now provided shelter of a different sort for some of the smaller denizens of the neighborhood.

It was large enough that I could almost squeeze into its hollow core although the thought wasn't especially appealing due to the numerous insects and spiders which lived there.  It brought to mind, though, the many times I have read or, saw in a movie, where someone hid inside a hollowed log.  It certainly seemed possible except for the fact it was open at either end and any occupant was readily visible.

Many things crossed my mind as I looked into what once held the heart of this mighty tree.  I thought of the corruption that eats from the inside and I thought of the shell which was once a mighty sentinel.  It made me think of aging and dying and of bones that molder into the earth to provide sustenance for the creatures of the soil.  Birth, life and death are but a momentary flash within the passage of time.  It was a reminder to make certain that brief span is lived with purpose.