This ancient bald cypress has stood in the still water of Caddo Lake for longer than anyone can say — its trunk hollowed by decades of fire scarring, flooding, and slow decay, yet the tree lives on, draped in Spanish moss and lit gold by the early morning sun. The cavity in its base has likely sheltered generations of small wildlife, a quiet reminder that decay and life aren't opposites out here — they're the same process, seen from two angles.