Honey Locust Sappling

On one of my lunch hikes I came across this Honey locust sapling. For some reason I have not been seeing this tree in its young stage. I usually find mature Honey locust in a forest with a lot of vines growing around it. Mature bark curls on the side edges.


The trademark thorns make it easy to ID.


Honey locust / Gleditsia triacanthos

The wood is durable, hard and good for shock resistance.


Nehemiah 4:9
"But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night."

New Grass Growth In January

Photo taken 28 Jan 08

I saw this grass growing while I was walking in the woods after snow had melted from one of our many snows this winter. The grass was soft to the touch like spring growth would feel. There is a lack of color in what I experience in the woods for a long time so this photo adds a little green to an otherwise brown and drab landscape.


Psalm 74:17
"You have established all the boundaries of the earth;
You have made summer and winter."

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?"

Tree Knocked Down

I came across this tree that had fallen. The next photo shows the rot in the stump of that fallen snag. It fell against another tree and knocked that tree down also.


Notice the 2 types of growth on the stump. When you see this it is a sure sign of dead wood.

Below is the stump of the tree the frist tree knocked down. The root system is now exposed.



Here is the bark of the second tree that was knocked down by the first tree. The bark on this tree is interesting. For that reason I want to go back and try to ID this tree. Double click on the bark to get a more detailed photo and close up view.


Matthew 18:7
"Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!"

Animal Shelter

A lot of these type of cavities are seen in trees. I would say this is a den tree.


Psalm 119:44 "So I will keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever."

Double Ash Tree

In my search for ash trees I came across this unusual tree. The main stem has died and 2 branches are not growing. It is amazing how much weight a tree can hold at an angle like this.


Isaiah 61:7
"Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
Everlasting joy will be theirs."

Old Walnut

Here is an old Black walnut I have hiked by for many years. Growing where the land once was a pasture. Now the land is in rough leaf dogwood as a primary invading species.


Isaiah 45:8
"Drip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness:
Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
And righteousness spring up with it.
I, the Lord have created it."

Animal Trail

Hiking along a trail I frequent often I came across this den hole and mud slide. The photo below shows the trail leading up the other side of the hill. I looked closely for tracks, none were available. That leads me to believe that the animal drags part of his body behind his feet. A beaver tail perhaps. But the hole seems to small for beaver. Hiking in this area, I have never seen any trees cut by beaver so that leads me to rule out beaver.

Badger would be the next logical choice. They range from 13 to 30 pounds so they also seem a little big for the above hole.

Other possibilities would be mink, muskrat, opossum, raccoon, spotted or striped skunks, river otter and weasels.



Psalm 91:3 "For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.

Hidden Valley in the Snow

Ezekiel 34:25
"I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods."

Geese in 30 to 40 MPH Winds

I was sitting in a parking lot and I heard geese honking in the sky. The geese were flying in 30 to 40 mph winds. They did not go in a straight line to get to where they wanted to go, but they got there. Notice all the geese have their wings down. They are coming in for a landing. Most birds seem to wait out storms like this. Canada geese seem to take it in stride.

Isaiah 31:5

Like flying birds so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem
He will protect and deliver it;
He will pass over and rescue it.

Ash Tree Choaked by a Vine

Here is an Ash tree sapling that is being choked by a vine. I usually stay on the alert for ash trees as I hike through the woods.


Bark is the first thing that I notice when looking for Ash. This tree did not have any buds low enough to inspect. So I photographed them to see if they resembled ash. Opposite and stubby buds are true of the genus.


Here is a close up of how the vine is choking the tree.


Matthew 13:7 "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out."

Matthew 13:22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

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."

Dominate Trees Need Room

Notice how the tree on the left grows straight for about 15 feet. Then it starts bending to the left to get some light away from the tree on the right. A forest can only support so many dominate trees. If there are more trees than optimal then the trees will be stunted in growth.


Psalm 36:9 "For with You is the fountain of life;
In your light we see light."

Missouri River ice

Today Saturday there is a thaw, so I wanted to get the Missouri river ice photo's I took Wednesday and Friday on this blog.



Here is a video showing the river full of ice. It is interesting to see where the main current is and where the slow water is.



Driftwood along the south shore of the Missouri river.


These ice patties are mainly slush. I suppose if it stayed cold for a long time they would become solid.


Psalm 46:4 "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High."

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."

Heart Rot

Here is a tree with serious heart rot that still has a living branch growing off to one side.

Many times it can be identified by a conk or mushroom fruiting body.

My guess of what happened to this tree is: a storm tore a branch off the tree on the side nearest the camera. This wound opened the tree to disease which ate up the heart of the tree.


Joshua 2:11
"When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."

Ash Tree bark

In my pursuit of ash trees I came across this one deep in the woods on a hike in the snow. Ash trees are known for their tight diamond bark. Looking at the branches with my binoculars I verified that they were occurring in an opposite pattern instead of alternate.

I took notes on how to get back here in the spring. None of the ash trees I have found so far are big trees in comparison to the mighty oaks that dominate these woods.



Isaiah 55:1
"Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost."

Remains of a branch as seen from inside a snag.

This is an interesting photo, because it shows a branch growth from inside a snag. The heart rot of the tree allowed me to shoot this photo from inside out.



Heb 11:1,2 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

For by it the men of old gained approval."

Young Cottonwood Woods Video

1 Thessalonians 1:2 "We give thanks to God always for all of you,
making mention of you in our prayers."

Missouri Natural Areas

photo taken 12/14/07 after ice storm.

Missouri Natural Area sign. These areas are designations of ecological important areas of Missouri. This system tries to manage and restore examples of nature throughout Missouri.

There are 168 areas consisting of more than 44,000 acres.


Ecclesiastes 7:12
"For wisdom is protection just as money is protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors."