E. Red Cedar Growth

Photo taken 11/29/13

Here is the Eastern Red Cedar I measured in November 2013.
Height 48' Circumference 95.25" Canopy 40 & 45 Total Points 154

Here are the 2017 measurements 4 years later. 10/28/17
Height 53' Circumference 99 1/8" Canopy 47' 48' Total Points 164 a 6% increase in points in 4 years.

I shot the photo from the opposite side of the tree. Height growth is noticeable. As we walk with Jesus through the years, stop and remember how God has led you and take note of where you were and where you are now.

Bur Oak Revisited

This tree above is the same tree as the one below. The one above was photographed 9/26/17 and 28th while the lower photo was taken in November 2006. The circumference has increased in the last 11 years from 156" to 162 3/8". If you look close there are vines on the tree bowl that I chopped away to measure the bole.

The height was an estimation in 2006 now I have a clinometer.  It was  63' now I measured it as 81'

I don't know what I was measuring in 2006 but I came up with 88'  for the average branch spread. Now I have a branch spread of  99 and 121'

Height 81'

Canopy 99 & 121

Circuference 162

Points 271

There is a lesson as I was chopping vines. A healthy tree is endangered by the vines taking vitality from the tree.

Just because you are healthy now does not mean something is not attacking you. Resist the enemy at every turn in life.

James 4:6
"But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Grace is God giving ability to us.

Father, I pray the eyes of my heart my be enlightened to see my victory in my endeavors in life.

Maple Tree Remaeaured

I had measured this tree in 2002.  Not being able to find it for many years I ran accross it this past January. I wanted to come back and measure it. I wonder if it was 2 trees that grew together or is it one tree that is splitting apart as the tree ages.

                 2002 Measurements                                           2015 measurements

Height                  83                                                                      79

Circumference          202                                                                 226.25

Canopy                     77  &  77                                                         91  &  65

Total Points                   304.25                                                          324.85

I did not have a clinometer in 2002, so the height was measured by holding a pencil against the and then figure a perportion to a known height and multiplying. Now with a clinometer my height measurement is much better.     

The circumference has grown by 22 1/4 inches in 13 years.

That is 1.72 inches a year or or 0.85% a year.

In the 13 years the circumference increased 11%

Another thing to consider is the tree has a crack between the 2 bowls. Has this crack increased to make the circumference bigger?

Large Cottonwood

We measured this large E. Cottonwood tree today.

Circumference: 20' 5" I measured above the burl, which was 6' high.

Height: 109'

Canopy 75

Giving a total point value of 373.

Notice the tape is not level, but you want to measure it as the stem of the tree leans.

The large burl hindered my measuring at the correct height or 4' 6". But this tree has some history. The tree may have been 2 trees and then grew into one tree. There is a crack in the bole of the tree that may break away at some point.

I had just brought my 50 mm lens and could not get a clear shot of the tree with it. Therefore the stitching. Such a gloomy day would not make for much of a good photo. The 50 mm lesns has more settings to adjust for low light and that is why I brought it. I really enjoy my wide angle lens, which I failed to bring with me. It gives me a lot of latitude in where I could take a photo from. But I didn't think there was any hope of taking any half way decent photo.

Jill, my wife was worried about me falling in the river. There was a lot of room to get around the tree. I wasn't worried at all.

Shingle Oak Remeasured

Photos taken the 26th of May 2014.



Shooting up the bole of this tree you can see the scars of old branches that grew in the past.



Photo of the tree in October 2010

 2014 Measurements
height 87'
 canopy 66' 56'
Circumference 101.25"
Total points of 203.5

 Oct 7 2010 measurement:
 height 83'
Canopy 63' one way and 67' the other
Circumference 95.5
Total points of 194.6

Height increased 5% Circumference increase 6% in 3 1/2 growing seasons.

There is a E Cottonwood tree encroaching from the left side of the photo. Notice the Shingle oak top growth is growing away from that tree.

Psalm 97:6 "The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.

Old White Oak in Winter

There is a tree that is not far from where I live and not far off the road I wanted to revisit. I was there 5 years ago and had measured it then. I was thinking is was a big tree for the area I live in and wanted to measure it to see its growth. When we got there I noticed the canopy showed a lot of branches were dead, the top had been broken off in years past and the tree probably would not last much longer.

It was a stately tree and was the biggest White oak I had measured. Granted, there were I am sure, much bigger white oaks. But I had not measured them. This old friend had seen much change down through the years. The woods around it were much younger. The woods was more of an abandoned strip which was waiting to be cleared for development. Yet the development had not come.

Much to my delight I have been able to enjoy hiking here and experiencing the natural life there.

Anyway this old tree was showing its age and as in life all things will come to an end in this world. But I will watch this old tree in its last days and years. Being in undeveloped land it will be there until it breaks in a storm.

The measurement. January 27^th 2009 circumference 179.5 inches. February 14^th 2014 circumference 190.75” a 11.25 inches of circumference or 6% increase in 5 years.

Cedar Tree in Winter

 We measured this Eastern Red Cedar tree the 29th of Nov 2013

Height 48'
Circumference 95 1/4"
Canopy of 45' & 40'
 Total points = 151

The tree seems to have a flat top like many trees.  I don't expect this tree to gain much height. We'll see when we return at a later date. I do think it shows some beauty as it shades the grave yard.

Young Ash

Here is an ash we measured Saturday. The trees we look at are recorded and we hope to find them in the future to see the change in growth.

Height 46'
Circumference 25 1/8" or 8" diameter.
Canopy 22' x 23'

Giving it a point total of 77. Not a big tree, but it is the young trees that show growth.

The woods we were hiking in had no man made objects to referance them to. We were using a compass and keeping track of the number of paces to reference the trees. Going from large tree and noticing how the ground sloped helped me identify where I was.

Extra Long Limb Tree

The big tree in the background is the object of this photo. The flush of brush/saplings would hide this tree in the summer. One thing that brought this tree to my attention is the extra long branch that extends to the right. I try to visualize why a tree grows the way it does. Up to now I don't have an explanation for the extra long limb growth.

It could have a broken top and this branch attempted to gain dominance. I don't remember that when I measured the tree. I do notice that the dominate part of the tree leans to the left in this photo and may have been another branch to the right that has broken off.

Now I have a reason to return to the tree to see if there is a scar of the missing branch to the right. This tree is not far from my bench I rested at Saturday. So I will be revisiting this tree at some point.

Chinquapin oak
Height 50 feet
circumference 92 & 3/4 inches
Canopy 52 and 64 feet.
Total points = 157.6 points

I am not so much concerned to find the biggest tree where I live but to monitor and watch the growth of trees over the years.

Gear

Click photo to enlarge.

Here is the gear I take with me to measure trees. I recently bought a clinometer. It measures angles and I can figure the height of a tree by using a trigonometric equation using the calculator.

I always like to carry my bird book, because I never know when I will catch a glimpse of a bird.

Compass: Not paying attention to where I am going, I have gotten lost in the past. So a compass will help me find my way back. I also use it to describe where a tree is.

10X hand lens: I use this to look at tree buds, leaf scars and bundle scars. This information helps me ID the tree.

100' steel tape: I use it to find the circumference of a tree the the crown spread. I use it to calculate the height of trees.

25' tape. I can get a quick read of a tree's diameter with this.



Here I am reeling the tape out to find the distance to a tree.

Tree Measurement: Cottonwood

I came across a large Eastern Cottonwood and thought I would measure it.

I came up with a height of 120'. A circumference of 149". A canopy of 78' measured one way and a canopy of 64' measured another way. This gives a point total of 287. The average diameter of the tree is 47". There are only 3 other trees that I have measured that have a larger tree diameter. One of those trees is probably 2 trees grown together. I would like to find the rules on when a tree is 2 trees and not one.

This tree is near my Sycamore vine tree. So it should be easy to return to and check.

It is interesting to note that all my top tree points are in the bottom lands. There is one exception and that was a Sycamore that rated over 300 points. But it is right below a spring that flows all year.

It seems that this statistic shows the availability of water will cause trees to grow to their potential. So water is one of the limiting factors of tree growth where I live.

Trees to Measure

Here are 3 trees I came across yesterday that I want to go back and measure. The top one is a White oak and the bottom 2 are Bur oaks. I am just IDing these by the bark. I will also double check my ID's.

The area is by a creek so it is a bottom land site.





Psalm 92:5
"How great are Your works,
O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep."

30" Shingle Oak

Photo taken just before or after Jan 1 2008

This may be the biggest Shingle oak I have seen.

This is an estimated size because I did not have any measuring equipment with me at the time. I was on one of my lunch hikes and was as usual unprepared. The Missouri record tree has a diameter of 51 inches.

Here is a link to a list of the Missouri record trees.

I will try to find my way back to this tree to measure it for real. My guess is that the diameter will be a little smaller than I think, because of other estimates that I checked. Looking for the trees is half the fun. As I have posted in other blog entries my descriptions lack clarity at times, and I could not make heads or tails out of what I said.

I will find this tree at some point because it is in some woods that I like to explore from time to time. The terrain is not brutal that has kept me from finding a few of my trees.

Micah 6:8
"He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?"

White Oak Measured 176 Points

Here is a tree in the center of the photo that dominates this part of the woods. As I make my way over to it I am not sure what kind of tree it is other than an oak.

I decide to measure the tree.

I come up with a height of 63 feet.
A canopy of 59' one way and the other way of 66'
And a circumference of 8 feet 5 inches or 97"
Total points of 176

My height measurements are always questionable. I would like to get a clinometer but they are a little pricey.


Looking at the trees bowl I zoomed in on a hole in one place where a branch used to be.


The tree had a couple of dead branches that show an interesting pattern of how bark stops near the bole of the tree. Click on the photo for a larger view of the tree.


This view of the tree is shot from the base of the tree up.

The tree is not far from the trees I talked about yesterday.


Many oaks are hard to identify in the winter but there were plenty of leaves like this White oak leaf at the base of the tree. So until further evidence is found I will call this tree a White oak. One problem I have with calling it a White oak is because the bark is not characteristic of White oaks. White oaks usually have light gray bark and the bark is flaky. This tree does not have this bark.


These 2 trees were just east of the tree I measured and will be a sign for what to look for when I return to find this tree again. Looking at the first photo you can see them further up the hill from the oak I measured.


Both of these trees are Red oaks (shumard oak is another possibility). This is a close up of the one on the left. I would classify this tree as a den tree because of the hole in the bole.


Psalm 55:22 "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."

Need Tree ID 221 points

Here is a tree I measured Christmas morning. My kids were still asleep and my dog and I went for a hike. It wasn't cold about 35 degrees. I came across this dominate tree. Measuring it I came up with these figures. It will be an easy tree to find because it dominates the forest. It has wolf tree characteristics. A wolf tree is a large tree with wide branching pattern. They usually are found in the open where there is no competition.

Height 82'
Circumference 121"
Canopy 73 1/2
Total Points 221

I will have to come back in the summer to ID the tree. My guess is that it is a Bur oak.


Jeremiah 5:6
"Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their apostasies are numerous."

Hike Durning An Ice Storm

When I left for a hike it was 35 degrees, the weather said 3 to 5 inches of snow and rain first. When my dog and I got to the woods some ice pellets were falling but it wasn't bad. We had a great time hiking and looking at trees. I took a photo of this tree not sure what kind it is. But it may be easy to find with the vines climbing up it.

The ice pellets fell during all of our hike. My dog a black lab enjoys this kind of weather. When we got back the car she took off like a shot probably to get rid of some of her excess energy. Now as I write this she is curled up at my feet and the snow is coming down hard.

I measured the tree:
Height 94 feet This seems a little high. I hope to find this tree again to check my measurements.
Circumference 79"
Canopy 47' x 35' so average would be 41'
Total points 183


This tree (the one with the branch or sucker tree going off at about a 45 degree angle) is 120 degrees from the first tree and the creek is running at 50 degree.


24 inch stump about 15' in the air and the fallen tree points to my tree, I measured (when I sight along the tree) when I follow the creek that runs at 50 degrees.


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."

White Oak

Here is a white oak tree that I use to locate other points of interest in these woods.

I've got measurements which I want to double check.

This is amazing. I took this photo in Nov 2006 and the above photo in Dec 2007. I have almost the same angle in both photos. this angle probably gives the clearest shot of the tree. Other views may be much more obstructed.

My measurements on 26-Nov-06 were:
Height 79 feet
Circumference 120 inches
Canopy 76 feet
giving 218 tree points.

This is a tree that I come by often and I use a Persimmon tree that is 5 degrees from the White oak as a guide to find this tree.


Blocky bark of Persimmon tree.

John 14:6 "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

Nothern Red Oak 233 points

I found a large Northern Red oak tree after I climbed up a steep gully.



It measured:
123" in circumference
93' tall
and had an average canopy of 69 feet.

This totalled 233 points

1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

Nations Largest Trees

American Forests web site has an article on the current largest trees.