Found a black oak that's been standing dead for decades

Came across a black oak today that must have died fifty years ago, still upright, hollowed out by woodpeckers and beetles. The heartwood was so dry it crumbled to dust in my hand. There's something about a tree that refuses to fall that I keep coming back to—maybe it's stubbornness, maybe it's just good balance. Anyway, took a core sample for the record. It's a good reminder that not everything needs to be harvested to be worth studying.