Drought is taking its toll on crops and wells across the country, but John Sam Williamson is trying to ensure it doesn't kill a record-holding 350-year-old bur oak tree near Columbia, Mo., according to The Columbia Daily Tribune.
The oak tree lives on Williamson's 1,000-acre farm his family has operated for six generations and is believed to be the largest of its kind. As the drought carries on, Williamson has been hauling 1,600 gallons of water to it each week using a portable tanker.
The tree is already showing signs of stress. "The leaves are beginning to curl up a little bit, and they have turned kind of brown," Williamson told the Columbia Daily Tribune. "I think it has aborted a lot of the acorns, and the leaves turn upside down to keep from losing moisture."
