The Old Woman And The Oak Tree

When she is raking the leaves of the black oak tree that is growing beside her back porch, she sighed, and muttered to herself:  It is tiring to clean after this Oak Tree, for it does not let its leaves fall all at once.  It sheds its dried leaves a few at a time from fall through the coming spring.  A gust of wind blew carrying a few leaves from the black oak tree and a dried leaf brushed gently against the old woman's wrinkled face and with the gust of wind she thought she heard the Black Oak whispered to her in response to her mutterings.
Why do you complain about my leaves falling to the ground a little bit at a time?  Oh impatient woman....lots of things must be done gradually and some things must be done all at once!  There is wisdom behind everything that happens in nature.  You only have to observe and learn.

The old woman looked up at the old Black Oak tree and she imagined its old wrinkled face and sturdy rugged knotty neck bending over her.  She is old but this Oak tree is much older than her and probably lived through lots of wonderful, terrible, sad and happy events that happened in the lives of the families that lived or are still living in this community.   This Oak tree is a silent non-judgmental witness to all the the lives lived by the people that lived there.

The Oak tree stands on a hill overlooking the little lake community of Black Oak Lake.  It stood there like a silent sentinel, ever watchful of the comings and goings of the people that live there.

Emily, the current occupant of the cabin that sits half hidden within the drooping branches of the old Black Oak, is a white haired lady whose countenance manifests a peaceful, happy disposition.  Although she had been a residence of this community for a number of years and almost every residents of the community knew her, very few people know the details of her private life.

A stranger would deduce that she loves animals for her dwelling is surrounded by feeding stations for different animals including birds.  But she does not have a domestic pet of any kind.