The rose got here

Remember back on May 24th we posted this picture (on the left) of a rose bud and said the rose was “on the way”. Well, here we are 5 days later and we have been blessed with a beautiful blooming rose that did get here. It is remarkable how Nature brings about so many dynamic examples of growth and development. There is something just so mystical about roses…

Pileated woodpeckers in the neighborhood

Looking out the front door I spotted a pair of Pileated woodpeckers on the side of a tree across the street. One of them, a male, flew right at me and landed in a big tree next door. The second stayed on the other side of the street flying from tree to tree.

Within a very short time the female across the street had flown tree to tree down the street and out of sight. These large birds create quite a commotion when they fly through the neighborhood!

Two years later

Taken on June 20, 2020

Taken on June 25, 2021

Taken on May 26, 2022

This Black Cherry was one we got free from the Conservation Service and Indiana DNR. The first picture was taken on June 20, 2020 shortly after being planted. The sapling was then in a cage for protection, and the top visible rung on the cage is less than 2 feet high. The second picture was taken on June 25, 2021. Then the tree was a little over 6 feet tall. The tree has reached a little over 12 feet in height now. It’s amazing how quickly this Black Cherry has grown.

I’ve never seen a tree like this before

At first from a distance I thought it might be a very large monument in the Arlington East Hill Cemetery.  As we walked through the grounds and got closer it looked somehow like a huge tree.

Looks like a very tall monument

Getting closer it looks more like a dead tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close up you can for sure see it is a huge dead tree. The outside surface is very smooth in parts, and it certainly looks like layers twisted tightly around the trunk of the tree. Never seen anything like this. One side has a rather swirled layered look as well.

Looks like twisted layers. Looks rather weird.

The open trunk lower down is very interesting.

Not a common look on a tree trunk

Another view, also uncommon in a tree


This is one of the strangest trees I have ever seen. It started out looking like a large monument in the cemetery. And the closer you got the more you saw the tree. And the details were even more not tree like it seems. Wish I knew what species of tree this is/was. It is located in the Arlington East Hill Cemetery near Arlington, Indiana.

 

Wet squirrel

This squirrel got caught in our heavy rain storm and got drenched. He hopped on the tree about 3 feet up, grabbed the trunk and held on for dear life. Note his water logged tail.

We were under a severe storm warning that soon turned onto a full fledged tornado warning complete with the phones going off and our local sirens blaring.. We avoided any damage from the very high wind gusts, and fortunately there was no hail. Some parts of town suffered from wind damage.