The Fages Oak

The oaks here hold onto their leaves all winter. They probably do in England too and I failed to notice. I watch this oak for signs of life as spring approaches. it tricks you into thinking that it has died over winter, and then, when you have given up looking, and all of the other trees are green, it suddenly changes.
Explaining to the children that its roots underground are as vast as it branches are above, still gives me a frisson.
It has stood at this small crossroads for centuries, and seen so much.