Tree by the Sea
A
Mighty
Oak
Nestles
a
Carmel
House
BY
MICHAEL
CHATFIELD
•
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JAMES
R.
SALOMON
L
ive oak trees, such as those lining the
streets of Carmel-by-the-Sea can live,
and indeed, thrive for many centuries.
The magnificent specimen found in front of John
and Noelle Micek's north of Ocean home is a
prime example. This tree most likely sprouted
from its acorn many years before the Founding
Fathers created the United States of America,
and certainly long before the City of Carmel
was incorporated in 1916. Our town's famous
tree protection statutes have ensured that this
and many of it its arboreal siblings have survived.
Imagine the changes that tree has witnessed.
It was already ancient when a proud new
Carmel landowner erected what was most like-
ly a typical board-and-batten cottage under its
spreading limbs in 1929. Perhaps that person
was one of the Bohemian artists who initially
populated the village, and it's fun to imagine that
maybe he or she produced a painting that
immortalized the oak. It was there, its gnarled
112
C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 9
Decades of careful conservation of Carmel's tree canopy has resulted in the preservation of many ancient oaks, such as this
specimen. The Micek family took great care to incorporate this formidable tree into their home's design.
