This is my California. To plant an oak is to believe in the future. To protect an oak is to claim our past. These trees provided food and firewood for Californians. In many areas they are the keystone habitat species for birds.
Jays are probably the most active propagators of oaks today.
Everyone is in and out of it all day, bustling around. It is the only tree around me where the Cooper's hawk always comes darting out empty-handed. It is clearly a safe zone. The dense, prickly leaves provide good cover. The thick loping branches are squirrel thoroughfares.