The Oak

A misleading title, but the oak is in the top of the photo. This is an area we used to walk to daily, but now the only time we can get to it is when the ground is hard frozen like today. We had a ritual of touching the oak for luck, and it works. While the berry vines and poison oak are grown up around it now, I found a small opening big enough for a touch. We used to walk all over these hills, including the now fenced and locked vineyard just off of the oak. Now, we're limited for the most part to our property. I missed my walking partner Tom today, who stuck it out at home nursing a nasty cold, but I touched the tree twice for us. Kirby loved the hike, although I think the frozen clods were a little tough on his paws. Winter photography - a real challenge much of the time.