Oak Tree photographed throughout 2002 and the beginning of 2023
The Oak Tree and Oak Apple Day 29 May 2023
For the past year, I have been photographing a majestic mature Oak Tree isolated on a small upland rise near Saffron Walden in North West Essex, England.
Two or three times a month in snow and mist and glorious summer sunshine under a mix of vast east Anglian cloudscapes I watched the magnificent Oak change slowly with the seasons.
The stark brooding winter silhouette softens as the first flush of new green plumage announces that spring has arrived.
Rook and Crow nest in its boughs and the farmer plants a new crop and its feet.
Summer leads to autumn and harvest time.
The leaves of the Oak change colour from rich vibrant green to golden brown and cling to the branches until the first frosts.
Late autumn mists precede the first snows and finally the leaves fall and all is quiet for a few short weeks before the year of the mighty Oak begins again.
Royal Oak Day or Restoration Day on 29th of May each year commemorates Charles II when he escaped the Parliamentarian army by hiding in an Oak Tree near Boscobel House after the Battle of Worcester in September 1651. The Stuart monarchy with Charles II as King was finally restored on 29th of May 1660.
King Charles III will have his coronation on Saturday May 6th 2023