Rachael Padilla

From the Inside

Added 2021-04-07 22:01:01 +0000 UTC

One benefit of being small in stature is that I can fit into small spaces. It's not of great benefit as an adult very often, but it was on the day I climbed through a crack in an oak tree! I had my reservations, snakes and spiders creep me out. But it was too great an opportunity to miss!

I've been fascinated by this tree for years now. It's clearly very old. I've photographed it often. Photos have never done it justice.

It has often conjured within me flights of fancy. I've imagined fairies and pixies living among the resurrection ferns and moss that once covered the massive branches. Or the spirit of the tree itself, and the things it has seen. My mind has imagined the more earthly and practical, too. The natives that would have walked past it in their daily tasks. It could have been nothing but a sapling 200 years ago. 100 years ago, it would have been on farm land. Land that was likely worked with slave labor. The countless birds and animals that have found shelter in its branches.

I'm saddened that its branches have fallen off, and that this majestic tree has reached the end of its life cycle. But I'm thrilled that I had the opportunity to climb inside. To feel the coolness of the inside of a tree, to see it from the inside out, and to share the experience with you!