Shagbark Hickory

I came across some Shagbark hickory in my hike the other day. There were 7 leaflets.

The bark is shaggy though this photo does not show it well.

Catalpa Flower

Driving back at the end of the day Friday I ran across these Catalpa trees with beautiful flowers. I got out of my truck and took these photos. Catalpa is not known for its flowers but I think these are beautiful.

Eastern Red Cedar Fruit

As I was walking down the trail I realized I had measured this tree in the past, but it was not on my list of trees. I need to go back through my notes to find this tree. There seems to be an abundance of Eastern Red cedar fruit this year.

If I find the notes then I will know what month to look in to find an earlier photo. I probably came by here in the winter. It was not easy getting to this tree. I remember crawling on my hands and knees to measure it.

Only the top of the tree is in the photo. The photo quality is not the best probably because of the branches in the foreground.

The fruit is a berry like cone about 1/4 inch long blue with a white waxy coating.

Honeysuckle Overtaking Woods

Honeysuckle seems to be overrunning this section of woods.

When I got out of my work truck for lunch I was greeted by this honeysuckle growing along the ground. It headed into the woods and up into this Eastern red cedar and further up the hill by this cliffs.

Honeysuckle has a sweet fragrance which dominated these woods.

Iris Beds

I stopped at this iris garden recently. The above photo is of ground that will be planted in iris's

Honey Locust

A few days later after the visit of the Honey locust in yesterdays post I went back to observe this tree more closely. Notice the bark curls from the side. This is a common characteristic of Honey locusts.

Here is the base of the tree and it seems to me that in earlier days this was 2 trees growing side by side.

Here is new thorn growth. There is no stiffness to these thorns yet.

Old Honey Locust

This is the largest Honey locust I have found in my hiking. It looks like 2 trees grown together.

Circumferance 142.1"

Canopy 81' & 52'

Height 63.7'

Total points 227.5

Brown Thrasher

I hiked into the woods today and this bird came by to see me. It stayed in the branches nearby for at least 30 minutes. The only note I heard was like a clicking of the tongue. Peterson's calls it a harsh chack.

Revisit Slipery Elm

I came back to the Slipery elm I found last month.





The tree on the right in the photo below is the Slippery elm.

The below photo was taken in late April


I ID this tree as Slippery elm because of the slight notch of the seed sac at the apex.

Lightning Strike

Here is a Kentucky Coffee tree that was recently struck by lightening. The bark that peeled off the tree is on top of the grass. There is a dead squirrel next to the tree that apparently was killed by the strike.


Why did the lightening go down the trunk in a spiral?


How much of a chance does this tree have in surviving this strike? I have read in books that trees can survive but it will be a tree that I want to revisit in future years.






Notice the feather compound leaves. They are double compound.

Basswood

Here is a good example of Basswood stems growing up from the roots of the tree. Notice the leaves in the photo below are from the new stems growing from the roots. They are bigger leaves, which may be due to the fact that they are below the canopy of the larger tree.
These leaves do not have seeds growing near them.




The leaves above in the parent tree do have seeds growing on them. They are smaller leaves and may not grow as large because they receive more sunlight.

All these leaves are from the same tree, because the smaller stems are from the same root system of the larger tree above.

Bur Oak Branch

Here is a Bur oak with a side branch that is about 20" in diameter. It is a tree unto itself. But all that weight is being supported by the bowl. The search for light continues. There can be no life without light. If there is not enough production to support the life of the branch the branch will die. Each branch and twig must produce enough for it to survive and also extra food will be brought back to the bole of the tree.

Our purpose in Christ is to help others spiritually and physically. If we are not reaching out to others we will die spiritually. Jesus said His food was to do the will of the Father. Jesus thrived by doing the things He was called to do. We are the same. As we do the what we are called to do we thrive.

River Bottom Video

Here is a video from the Missouri river bottom. The tangle of woods.

Black Walnut Reaches for Light

The tree on the left is a Hackberry and the one on the right is a Black walnut. I was interested in the Black walnut because of the low limb that is growing far to reach the light. Long branches intrigue me because of the weight that has to be supported by the bole of the tree. All this work is done to reach more light.

Sometimes we have to search a long time to find the light from God. The chaos of the world blocks it out. But if we continue to search we will find light. God enjoys revealing His truths to those who truly seek Him.

Jeremiah 29:13

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."

Black Locust with Conk

I have never seen conk on a live tree. That maybe because it doesn't happen. Now I have the photos to prove otherwise. Here is a live and seems to be health Black locust tree with conk growing on the side of the tree. The crown does not seem to be healthy. But this is a new experience for me.

Iris

I was taking the back way to my office when I came across a street that was closed by the Water Dept. As I slowed down to turn I noticed a bed of Iris to my left.
I got out to take this photo. As I was taking the photo the owner came up to me and I asked him how many were there and he said 1500 plants and he sells each flower for a $1 apiece. He explained if there is warm weather this weekend there will be better blooms.

This bottom photo was taken by an office building.

Pine Tree Doesn't Grow For Height

These pine trees can grow much higher then their contemporary hardwood trees. Notice see how the bole of the pine thins down quickly at the top.

Why? One, it ices a lot around here and that might stunt the growth. It is interesting to see that the pines stop growing when they get to the top of the other trees. When they get up to the unblocked wind they stop growing.

Another reason is the push pull effect of tempature swings in the winter. It will be 30 degrees one day and the next it could be up in the 60's. These temp. swings may cause the pine trees to start photosynthesis bringing water up the tree then when it freezes the water in the tree will freeze causing cell damage.

There are no natural pines in this part of the country. The only conifer that grows naturally here is the Eastern Red Cedar.