List of Living Trees
My list showing which trees I have visited with links to completed posts.
Compiled from my major information resource, the Famous Trees of Texas website, this list serves as a Table of Contents for the site
1. Auction Oaks
2. Baptist Oak
3. Bell County Charter Oak
4. Ben Milam Cypress
5. Bloys Symbolic Oak
6. Borden Oak
7. Burnt Oak (no public access)
8. Burges Oak
9. Battle Oaks
10. Big Tree Ranch Baldcypress (no public access)
11. Cart War Oak
12. Century Tree
13. Choctaw Robinson Oak
14. Church Oak
15. Commissioner's Court Oak
16. Courthouse Cedar (removed in 2019)
17. Cabinet Oak
18. Columbus Live Oak
19. District Court Oak (no public access)
20. Dueling Oak
21. Fleming Oak
22. Founders' Oak
23. Goose Island Oak
24. Goliad Anacua
25. Goodnight-Loving Pecan
26. Half-Way Oak
27. Hallettsville Hanging Tree
28. Hangman's Oak (no public access)
29. Heart O'Texas Oak
30. —Hubbard Ginkgo
31. Houston Campsite Oak
32. Jumbo Hollis Pecan (no public access)
33. Kimble Court Oaks (no public access)
34. Kissing Oak
35. Kissing Tree
36. Kyle Auction Oak
37. Kyle Hanging Tree
38. La Bahia Pecan
39. Landmark Cottonwood
40. Las Cuevas Ebony
41. Live Oak County Charter Oak
42. Log Cabin Oaks
43. Liberty Courthouse Oak
44. Masonic Oak
45. Matrimonial Oak
46. Muster Oak
47. Old Evergreen Tree
48. Old Baldy
49. Page's Tree
50. Panna Maria Oaks
51. Peach Point Oaks (no public access)
52. Parker Oaks
53. Ranger Oaks
54. Rio Frio Landmark Oak
55. Ross Oak (no public access)
56. Runaway Scrape Oak
57. Runyon’s Esenbeckia (no public access)
58. Rusk County Loblolly Pine (no public access)
59. San Saba Mother Pecan (no public access)
60. Seiders Oaks
61. Steel's Tavern Oaks
62. —Tombstone Oak
63. Traders Oak
64. Treaty Oak
65. Turner Oak
66. Twin Oaks
67. Tannahill Oak (no public access)
68. Urrea Oaks
69. Whipping Oak
70. Wiemers Oak (no public access)
71. Which Way Tree
72. Zachary Taylor Oak
A dash — before the tree name indicates that I have visited the tree and I’m still working on the write up.
These trees are not “famous,” but still interesting…
Favicon
If you view this site on a laptop or add it to your favorites on your phone, (hint!) you’ll see a little image called a favicon in your favorites list or in your browser tab. The icon is a linocut I created as a fine art printmaking student at the University of North Texas in the 90s.
An obvious choice for this project, the image was originally based on my own 1976 childhood drawing saved by my mother, whose handwriting you can see stating my name, age and the year. When I found my own five year old version of a tree, I immediately wanted to “copy” my style.
While in college, I worked part-time at a preschool/daycare with two and three year olds. I loved all these sweet kiddos and even made lifetime friends with one of the families I met there. Watching these kids draw and paint fascinated me.
Art school, with so many talented students, often nudged me into comparison mode, which works against creativity and fuels self doubt. Seeing the concentration and confidence with which these toddlers made deliberate marks on their paper was revitalizing.
I let go of trying to make realistic, technically perfect drawings and starting embellishing playful doodles with patterns and texture, turning them into finished works.
Finding and recreating my childhood creation brought everything full circle from admiring these self-assured kids to building my self worth. Using it for this project brings new life to a relic from my days as a young artist.
Rainbow
Attempts to get gas station patrons to notice a rainbow.
On my way to Austin to see Peckerwood and visit friends, I saw a enormous, beautiful rainbow when I stopped for gas. This mobile phone photo does it no justice whatsoever.
A gigantic half circle stretched to nearly touch the ground, with bright colors saturating the drizzling sky and a second partial band alongside it. Thrilled, I leaped from my car to get a better view. Standing in the light rain, I looked around to see if others had noticed this grand sight and pointed it out to a man walking toward the store.
Rainbow!
He began shouting, "I don't BELIEVE in rainbows! I do NOT believe in rainbows!"
A perplexing response to say the least. Must we "believe" to appreciate this ephemeral occasion? This individual may or may not have been playing with a full deck, so to speak.
I tried again, pointing it out to a couple other guys pumping gas.
Did you see the rainbow?
I was clearly excited and it really was worth notice. They nodded and kind of smiled. No big deal.
Ok, perhaps I appeared a bit over zealous or maybe even intoxicated standing in the drizzle taking photos like that sobbing double rainbow guy on youtube. Walking slowly backwards to my car, I passed a man at the next pump in a big red truck.
Did you see? I pointed.
"OH THANK YOU," he called out. Finally, a proper acknowledgement!
When I finished filling my tank the fleeting moment was gone. The same man came back out to his truck and said, "Thank you so much for showing me that rainbow."