I wanted you to see this old Eastern Red Cedar tree. It stands near an old mostly abandoned cemetery in the Land Between the Lakes here in western Kentucky. When I first found it I realized it reminded me of the old legend, the one that says the souls of our ancestors rest within the tree. I could almost see those old souls in the gnarls of the tree trunk.

The Land Between the Lakes is the property between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, government owned and obtained from the people who resided there when both lakes were built. Houses, towns, churches were all abandoned, some torn down, but most cemeteries were left as they were. This tree has seen it all, and it looks as if it carries the weight of all the burdens of all those displaced people.

I like its beauty and its dignity. It's an old Grandfather Tree to me.

Amen.

I see a white buffalo in it.

Oh wow, Sharon! It really does have that old wise grandfather look! I love it.

Thanks for sharing your gnarly spirit tree.

@Sharon that tree is amazing. Thank you for sharing it and your beautiful writeup. I have a few questions about this tree I hope folks can help with.

We'd like to plant this tree as a wildlife-friendly specimen tree in one spot, specifically the Emerald Sentinel variety, which grows to 15-20 ft, so more manageable, with a spread to about 8 ft. It's a female variety, so can provide berries eaten by birds and mammals, and provides shelter for many birds. Will we need to plan a male tree near it, and which variety can we plant near it that we can keep manageable in size?

Second use is as a hedge, and I found out from a wholesale dealer they have straighter varieties of Eastern Red Cedar for use as hedges. As a hedge, can we keep it pruned to 6 ft high? We've seen photos of this, but wanted to check.