Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.
It is amazing to realize that these tiny hanging flowers are growing on an oak tree which possibly might be almost 700 years old.  Most of the oaks in Dalkeith Old Wood are over 300 years old having seeded from older trees dating back to the Californian Forest but there are many very strangely shaped trees which have been dated as 700 years old.  The wood has probably been used as a royal hunting forest since the twelfth century and deer still roam.  It is a place that is seldom visited and always very peaceful apart from the rustling of creatures in the undergrowth, bird song and the hammering of woodpeckers as they search for insects and grubs.  The presence of rare saproxylic beetles and lichens enable it to be classified as a SSSI (Special Site of Scientific Interest)
If these flowers develop into acorns and then trees perhaps one of them might be growing in five hundred years time.

Thanks to Beckett for hosting TinyTuesday