Power Line Recovery

Photo taken 23-Mar-08
This power line right of way was cleared last fall. I will be taking photos to show the recovery. I do not know if chemicals were use to keep the growth down.

On 21-Sep-08 I decided to find out how the growth was coming on this power line. It was Sunday morning and foggy with limited time I planned to walk over with my dog to take a few photos. I figured that there would be some knee high growth and some trees maybe growing up to waist high.

What I found was astonishing.


This first photo does not show any growth but it does demonstrate the amount of fog that was present that morning.


This area is ripe for thistles. And there were plenty here.



These 2 photos show the abundance of blackberries. They were not just growing along the ground but were about chest high, 5' and will reap a bucket load of blackberries next summer.




The above photo shows the high growth of grass. The red stemmed plant below escapes my memory, but there were many plants 5' or higher.




Above is a cottonwood tree that looks like it has made it past 8' in height. I could not get to it because of the blackberries.





There was no way I was going to get back to the spot I was at in March without a machete or a stick to beat my way in. But this photo shows how much growth has come back since last fall when all vegetation was cut out.



This photo shows the abundance of Black locust.


Nature will not be denied. Man may alter as area for awhile but if left alone nature will take it back. I find this example to be encouraging in the resilience of nature. God has made plants in such redundancy that even with man's effort nature will rebound. I know there are places that are ruined by overuse, strip mining. Some areas of the middle east have been barren for years. Yet with the wise management of man some of these areas are coming back.

In Israel there used to be a forest in the Negev. Now it is just desert. Trees are being planted back in the Negev with special thought to catching water for the tree and a forest is coming back into existence.

Ezekiel 20:46

"Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and speak out against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev,

Ezekiel 20:47

and say to the forest of the Negev, 'Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not be quenched and the whole surface from south to north will be burned by it.

Kentucky Coffee Tree

Twice compound leaves and curled bark are sure signs this is a Kentucky Coffee tree. The little bit of yellow in the leaves caught my eye and I noticed it was a Kentucky Coffee tree.

Here is a tree ID key for compound leaves.




Psalm 119:93
"I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me."

Bur Oak

When I came across this Bur oak I did not have my measuring equipment. I was on a lunch hike and did not bring it with me. I estimated the points to be around 220. Now I will have to come back and find this tree to see how close my estimate was.



Psalm 119:90
"Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations;
You established the earth , and it stands."

Revisit of Double Post Oak

I found the double Post oak from last year. As usual the photo in the summer is hard to do the tree justice.



Below is the photo I took in late 2007.




Psalm 119:89
"Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven."

Ginkgo Tree

Walking in a park I came across this Ginkgo tree. The tree is originally from China and does not reproduce in the wild. Lately they have found a couple of places that it does reproduce in the wild. The female fruit stinks and because of this the female tree has been banned in some places.

The oldest tree in China is about 3500 years old according to "The Ginkgo Pages".

There is a petrified forest in Washington state of Ginkgo trees. Read about it in "Exploring the world of Trees" blog



Psalm 119:72
If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my affliction."

1400 Year old Angel Oak due for removal

Angel oak in South Carolina facing threat by urban sprawl.


Sign the petition to save this tree.

Dear Sign

Watching the growth of an acorn it was gone in August when I went to photograph it. Deer will eat a large amount of acorns. I read in one research article that 9 White oaks 40 cm in diameter will produce 100 kg of acorns.

The photo above was by the tree that I went to get photos of the growing acorns.


Psalm 119:92
"If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my affliction."

Cattails

Seeing these cattails I wanted to get a photo down on their level.



Another term for these plants is bulrush. Birds use the disintegrating heads of these plants are used by birds to build nests. Indians have used them to soften boards that babies are carried on.




When you see these plants you know water is near.

Isaiah 35:7
"The scorched land will become a pool
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
Grass becomes reeds and rushes."

Fallen Tree

I came across this tree that has been dead for a long time I noticed the fresh dirt by the base of the tree gives a clue the tree has recently fallen.

Sometimes in life an activity that was done is no longer useful. Being creatures of habit we continue in the practice long after its usefulness has passed. It is only when it is made obvious that we realize the need to do something dilfferent.


Zechariah 11:2
"Wail, O pine tree, for the cedar has fallen; the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan; the dense forest has been cut down!"

Leaves Retaining Water

Here is a beautiful Eastern Red cedar that is holding water after the rain.



Red bud leaves seem to cause the water to bead up on the leaf and not flow to the lowest point.



There have been times when I am in the woods when the leaves keep dripping water long after the rain has stopped.

There was one time I was camping at a campsite while it was raining. I went up into the woods tied a canopy over my hammock and laid down to read. I was enjoying my book and did not notice the rain stopping because of the constant dripping from the leaves over me. What made me aware of the change of weather was when I heard children playing down below in an open field. I then listened and realized the rain was not falling anymore.

Psalm 119:73
"Your hands made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments."

Shag Bark Hickory

Below are some Shagbark hickory nuts.




Psalm 101:3 "I will set no worthless thing before my eyes,"

Toadstool

Found this toad stool. They have the classic umbrella top and stem.





Amos 6:12
"Do horses run on rocks?Or does one plow them with oxen?Yet you have turned justice into poisonAnd the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,"

Sideways Tree

I am always interested in trees that go to great lengths to find light. Here is a photo of a tree looking for light and continues to grow to the side to get to the light.

My walk with the Lord Jesus sometimes is represented by this tree. What normally I think would be good for me is not always the way it seems. As I find the life of Jesus in the Bible and the life of others as examples I am encouraged and continue to walk as I learn.

Gash in Maple Tree

I came across this interesting gash in a maple tree. Some trees grow in a spiral and I am wondering if that is what this tree is doing or do we see the result of a lightning strike? At any event the tree is interesting and below I shoot up its bowl showing the massive growth.



Psalm 74:1,2a
"O God, why have You rejected us forever:
Why does Your anger smork against the sheep of your pasture.
Remember Your congregation, "

Maple Woods

Not far from this clear understory which I posted yesterday, is the above photo of a mature forest. It is the Maple woods nature area. I have come here for many years and enjoy hiking the trails and just letting my soul and mind rest.

1 Kings 5:4
"But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster."

Clear Understory

Brush and saplings can't survive with a thick over story that captures all the light.


Isaiah 50:10
"Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God."

Black Walnut

Black walnut fruit above and the characteristic diamond bark below.




Matthew 12:33
"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit."

Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald Ash borer has been found for the first time in Missouri this summer. Wayne County is the location. One of the problems is that a tree may be infected by the borer for 2 to 3 years before it is detected. It will spread to other trees before it is detected in the first tree.

The borer starts at the top of the tree and works down. It leaves a D shaped hole in the bole of the tree where it enters. But because it starts at the top their infestation is not noticed soon enough.

Traps are set up in the tops of trees colored purple and added chemicals to attract the bug. This trap will show if the bug has entered an area or not.

Here is an article by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation that explains a little about the Ash borer.

Emerald Ash borer comes from Asia and was infesting forests in Michigan in 2002.

Web site on the treatment of the ash borer.


Emerald ash borer national info site.

Wisconsin's page shows how the borer leaves a trail inside the wood.

Fallen Trees

The tree above was cut out of the way for the path to continue. Below is a photo where trees have fallen and been left alone. This area of woods has had a number of broken tops and fallen trees in the past few years.




Zechariah 11:2
"Wail, O pine tree, for the cedar has fallen; the stately trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan; the dense forest has been cut down!"

Trumpet Vine

Trumpet vine growing on Honey locust tree.

Very invasive plant and hard to get rid of.

Judges 6:5
"They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it."

White Ash Seeds

White ash seeds. Click to enlarge.

Matthew 13:32
"Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

Growth on Red bud

Growth on Red bud.

Isaiah 55:6
"Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon HIm while He is near."

Found Landmark Tree

I have been looking for this tree for a while. It was hard to find in the summer swath of leaves and obstructions. Walking back and forth knowing that the tree had to be here somewhere. I finally came across it.

I shot a photo of this tree from the other side of a gully. But it was in the winter when trees were much easier to see.

I posted a photo of this tree as "Trees as Landmarks" on March 25th 2007.

The broken top with a branch taking over as the leader growing further, was what I was looking for. It grows along the top of the gully I shot across a year and 1/2 ago.




Deuteronomy 19:14
" You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess."

Field Grass

This is a tall stand of grasses. This used to be a regular park that was mowed each week or so. Now it is reverting back to natural grass.





Deuteronomy 11:15
" He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied."