Peacock

American Bladdernut Report

American Bladdernut

Staphylea trifolia L.

 has interesting fruit. They grow in a 3 sided bladder. 

The seeds could be collected and grouped to make a rattling sound.

Leaves are toothed coming to a point at the tip. 

The trees do well in partial shade, but this tree seems to be thriving in the open sun.

This tree is a thicket forming shrub that can grow up to 25'. Planted occasionally as an ornamental. I don't see the tree often and was glad to come across this one.

                         

My time in nature is always good. I trust the Lord for His protection and comfort. 

Psalm 119:165

Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.

Proverbs 3:23

Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble.

Isaiah 63:13

Who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble;

1 John 2:10

The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

Slippery Elm Report

Slippery elm

Ulmus rubra Muhlenb.

At times this tree is also called red elm.

Ht up to 60' Has long trunk before deviding into branches. Has flat open crown.

Flowers Feb to April

Fruit: April to June usually 3/4" long. Has wing circling the seed with a notch at the top.

Leaves: Alternate, simple 4 - 8" long. 2-3" wide. Upper surface rough like sandpaper making the name of the tree seem like sarcasm.  But the name really comes from the inner bark which is sticky when chewed. The leaves are serrate like saw teeth. And the large teeth have smaller teeth. The tip of the tree is pointed and usually crooked. The upper surface has hairs that are stiff and below softer hairs.

Tea from the inner bark was used for coughs, and stomach problems. External bark was applied as a tea to fresh wounds, and burns.

The Indians used Slippery elm when paper birch was not available the bark was used for canoe shells.

Like American Elm, this tree is susceptible to Dutch elm disease and phloem necrosis.

Because of the long bole the tree, Slippery elm has the possibility of being used for lumber. It is listed in my "Missouri Woods" book by Robert Massengale.

The wood is of medium density, but for its weight has some strength.

The heartwood is reddish brown which would give the reason for the name of red elm. The texture of the wood is course but it machines with little difficulty  and bends easily. 

The wood is not easy to dry because of warping and shrinks a lot. There also seems to be a lot of ring shake. Ring shake is where the wood separates along where the annual rings were formed.

Notes came from:

 "Trees of Missouri" By Don Kurz

"Trees of Missouri" by  Carl Setternren and R.E. McDermott

"Missouri Woods" by Robert Massengale

Summer Stroll

Shaded park land gives protection against the blistering heat of the summer.

DAISY FLEABANE

Here is an old post of this flower.

American Elm Leaf

Weeping Willow

The name seems to come from the thin branches that hang down.

This an ornamental tree from China.

September 11th is a day of remembrance of those who lost their lives in the terror attack against America. Let us remember that life is from the Lord and not lose heart.

Psalm 30:5 "For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning."

Black Willow

When you see willow you know water is near. God will give us life sustaining water.

Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

John 4:13,14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Blue Vervain

NASB
Psalm 119:89 "Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven."
(Or stands firm in heaven. notes)

New Living Translation
Your eternal word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven.

English Standard Version
Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

NASB
Psalm 119:152 "Of old I have known from Your testimonies That You have founded them forever."

Isaiah 55:11 "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

Unripe Blackberries

Blackberries would usually ripen around the 4th of July. This year was sort of sub tropical by the amount of rain we were getting. So even by the 24th of July there were many red Black berries.

I thought of looking for the maturing of answers to prayer that I am waiting for. There are many things that could slow up the answer. Yet I don't want to give up on God. The answer will come and He promised in His Word that He would answer.

Matthew 7:7,8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For EVERYONE who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Common Mullein Flower

I got some more photos of Common Mullein. This close up worked well.
Canon EOS REBEL T3
f/14 1/640 sec ISO 1600 41mm 0 step Using an extension tube.

Here is my post from October last year.

The bottom photo is for reference on how much I enlarged the photo.

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

Psalm 119:97 

O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

Flowers are nice and beauty of this world is enjoyable. But there is coming a time of winter. It is not far away. Yet even in the bleak times of winter God is with us. It is the preperation of the winter that brings the growth of the next season.

I want to position myself for growth in God by studying the Bible and meditating on the goodness He brings to my life. Then with His love I can give to others.

Bee Activity

Bees, God's workers.

Joshua 24:12 

'Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow."

Growing Flax

The settlers across the US planted flax in the 1800's. There are 2 types of seed used. One was for the oil gained from the seed. Linseed oil has many uses.  The other was for the fiber that they used to make linen.

Isaiah 61:10
"I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

American Sycamore Seed Ball

Here is a close up of an American Sycamore seed ball.

Genesis 1:11 "Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so."

Lilies

Psalm 104:24
"O Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions."

Eastern White Pine Cones

Scotch Pine

I am not the best on IDing pines but this seems to be a Scotch Pine that we saw in this park park in June 2015. The pine cone and two pine needles per bundle match up with Scotch pine.

Moon

Psalm 148:3 "Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!"

Shot taken 6:50 AM June 10th 2015

Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly

Psalm 104:24,25 "O Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great."

Silvery Checkerspot Butterfly

2 Corinthians 5:17 " Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

Forest Canopy

Yellow Wildflower

Lotus corniculatus L.

Walking along a trail I found these small flowers growing in the grass. This blow up I accomplished with an extension tube. 48mm f/7.1 1/640 sec. ISO 200 -0.7  step

Grass Seeds

Eastern Meadow Lark

Saw this bird while hiking behind a ball field.

Mocking Bird

I saw this bird as I was checking the Missouri river for flood height.

Remeasure Eastern Cotton Wood Tree

June 1st 2015

Circumference 9' 8 7/8"

Height 108'

Canopy 61' and 73'

Total points 241

The decrease in height is due to the problem of looking through other branches that are not part of the tree I was measuring. The circumference increased 7/8"

June 14th 2014

Circumference 9' 8"

Height 115.8 '

Canopy 67' and 71'

Total Points 249

June 14, 2014 photo

Wandering Black Locust

When I took the first photo I thought the stem crossing the trail was a vine. But when I arrived closer I noticed that this was not a vine but a Black Locust tree that was searching for light.

There were stems growing vertically off of the horizontal stem.

Quality of Light

There is something about a forest that is clear below. One of the things this means is light is not getting through the upper canopy to allow for tall shrubs and trees to grow below. This would signafy that all the light is being captured. But that is not ture because if it was ture I would not be able to see into these woods. This then brings up the question of the quality of light. Can light be used up and the residual light we see not be useful for much plant growth?

This brings to mind the Scripture Jesus talks of light being dark. 

Matthew 6:23 ""But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

Let the light of Jesus shine within you.

Blackberry Flowers

Hiking in a park we came across these Blackberry Flowers. We will be back to reap the fruit in July.

Western Kingbird

I saw this bird along with a few others chirping in some trees. I had to walk a ways to get a clear shot.

Canon PowerShot SX700 HS

1/500 sec.

ISO 100

-1 step

f/7.1

42 mm

Slippery Elm

Not being familiar with this tree I was watching when the leaves came out to ID the tree. It is a Slippery Elm. One of the characteristics of this tree is the vertical  lines within the bark. American elm  does not have this. Am elm bark is blotchy in color. 

The buds were round and not angled and oblong like Am elm.

Oak Savannah

Oak Savannah is being created by cutting out the undergrowth. These woods are more park like and attractive to look at in the summer. The photo below is adjacent to these woods and shows how the forest looks without management.

Fallen Log

Here is a fallen log across the trail I was hiking on at the Oak Savannah woods. I enjoyed just sitting there and listening to the birds sing and the other woods noises. It was restful and provided one of the reasons I go into the woods often. I enjoy waiting in the woods for what can be observed. This does not happen if I'm in a hurry. Learning happens as I wait.

It is the same with the Lord Jesus. Hurry does not provide much benefit. It is as I wait on the Lord quietly that I gain peace and understanding with the things of God and life.

Weeping Willow

Photo taken April 2nd.

f8 160 75mm ISP 100