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.

Mulberry New Growth

Along the twig is the makings of Mulberry fruit.

Mullberry Bark

The Mulberry trees seems to have knotty boles in the older years. The bark is not continues as the bark goes up the bowl.

It is almost as if the bark breaks apart as the tree increases its girth.

Flowering Dogwood

Ohio Buckeye,, Flower, Leaves and Bark

Flower cluster

The Ohio buckeye usually has 5 leaflets for each leaf.

The tree bending around the larger tree is the Ohio buckeye

Bark closeup (left) of Ohio buckeye. This tree is 9" in dia.

Walking along the bottom of an east facing slope the flat ground was marsh like. I was glad it was early spring, (24 April 09) The pools of water along the ground would have bred a lot of mosquito's. I want to come back again in the summer to see how this area will look anyway.

Growing along the base of bluffs is common for this tree. The base of the hill is a similar situation. The tree in my remembrance does not take a dominate position in the forest. It grows up to 50' tall.

Early Spring Oak

I took this phto against the sun., setting the tree in front of the sun.

Broken Honey Locust

I found this Honey locust at a nearby park.

The bowl of the tree did not have any thorns though the branches did.

The base of the tree was swolen.

Circumference 97.4

Canopy 43' and 35' = 9.8

Height 66.2

Total points 173.4

Spring Blooms

Counting Trees

If there are 1000 trees an acre, then there ia a tree every 6.6 sq feet.

If I walk a mile through the woods and count trees 25' on either side of me how many trees do I count?

So I would sample an area of 5280' (the distance of a mile) by 50' wide.

5280' X 50' figures to be 6.06 of an acre.
1000 X 6.06 = 6,060 trees.

This was a math problem I figured out today.

New Growth on White Oak

I found some new growth on White oak in a local cemetery.

Persimmon / Diospyros virginiana

Persimmon trees are usually found scattered amoungst hardwoods.

The tree, when the conditions are right, multiply rapidly. Open fields provide a ripe enviorment for producing groves. I found my first grove of Persimmon as I was heading back from my hike last week.

It is in a former field that is reverting back to forest. Much of the undergrowth is invasive bush honeysuckle from Asia. The many Persimmon continue to thrive here. I took a video showing the preponderance of the tree. I am not sure how old they are but there are many trees, over 100 I would guess. I don't know if this has any importance, but there was a Black walnut tree in the middle of the Persimmon grove.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?

symbol=DIVI5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_persimmon

Natural Arch

On June 6th 1804 the Lewis and Clark expadition named this spot the "Split Rock" Click on the above photo to read the history of this area.

Katy Trail Canopy

This canopy was common while I rode the trail. The shade was welcomed as the sun was still giving off summer heat.

Standing Rock Katy Trail

Standing Rock. Click the photo below to read the history and science of this rock.

Photos taken last September on the Katy Trail.

Find Shingle Oak by Gall

Hiking in the woods I was taking a 250 degree line from a well know (to me) Basswood clump. I was not finding much and sat down at the top of a gentle ridge. I noticed to my right a Shingle oak with the gouty oak gall problem. These galls can build up over time leading to branch die back and tree decline.

Galls are formed by different insects wasps being one of the. Of the 800 wasps that form galls on trees 731 attack oaks.




With these photos taken I then went over to double check if in fact this tree was a Shingle oak. The only leaves on the ground were Shingle oak. They keep their leaves on all winter so they have not been on the ground for long.

Red and White Tulips

While driving at work I came across these tulips. I had to catch them, for they don't last long.

Red Bud Tree in Spring

Chinquapin Malaise

Here is a photo of Chinquapin malaise. I don't know the true name of the disease, but it seems only to attack Chimquapins. A knob on the tree bowl with many small twigs coming out of it.

Here is the white oak pattern bark on this Chinquapin.



The 3 photos below I took in Feb 08 show the problem as well.