Trees like us have relatives.
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They are not simply a collection of individuals growing randomly amongst us.
When one looks closely the similarities become manifest of these silvan siblings.
This small copse is created by the daughters and sons of some great mother oak, long vanished from this place.
Indeed, the final remains of this earthly arboreal form lay just feet from her children.
Now though, it is the time of these three siblings to come into their own magnificence.
Down through the ages, they have weathered tempest and drought, their roots clasped beneath the ground in loving familial embrace.
This long tale of fidelity to the mountain will be continued far into the future as the earth around is strewn with the next generation of oaks taking their first stretch towards the sun.
Photo: Cork oak glade at Saladaviciosa. Courtesy of the author.