I lost a friend this year. A friend that I visited often. That friend was a palm tree located behind the St. Marks NWR lighthouse. As a young tree it had been pushed over to its side, possibly by a tropical storm. The tree not only survived but bent back upright over the years. Palm trees that survive such events are often beautiful and I, like many other photographers, wanted to record this wonderful tree next to the salt marsh.
This is the tree as it looked in 2002.
The Florida coastline is a difficult environment for trees, and this palm eventually died, but it did not go away. The curved tree trunk remained for many years after as an attractive part of the landscape. Here are a couple of images of the trunk at high and low tide illustrating the harsh conditions it had experienced during its existence.
I mentioned in a previous
post that I visited the St. Marks NWR before the the arrival of hurricane Hermine. Here is the photo I took a short time before the Refuge shut down due to the approaching storm.
Perhaps this was the last photo taken of the old palm tree. I like to think that was the case. Here is an image I took upon my return to the refuge.
I miss this tree, probably more than I should. This palm tree brought pleasure to thousands of people, is included in untold numbers of photo albums, and got its own eulogy on the web. There is a lesson here, about strength, bending but not breaking, and bringing joy and beauty into the lives of others. May we all be so well remembered and loved after our departure.
