Phase One - the Burr Oak’s Story
After three windy mornings of sitting with my oil paints and canvas on an old licheny tree fort platform, I feel that I've been given a vision of the world of this ancient Burr Oak. Older than Manotick, the rural village that is aptly called "Jewel on the Rideau", this Oak has leafed out each spring for over two hundred years, in the wind that blows free over woods and fields south west of the village. The view that it shared with me here is planned to be filled in a very short time with the roofs of houses. This old Burr Oak, forest-edge fort for generations of children and witness of the history of Manotick is slated for destruction along with three other ancient Oaks and groves of venerable Hickorys and Basswoods. In respect for the history they have participated in and the biodiversity they help to maintain, these trees must continue to live, with their home intact and enough of the field to give them breathing space. A natural treasure for present and future resid...