Blog Post 2

I spent time this week getting a closer look at the tree in my backyard. The most intriguing part of this tree is how the new branches are growing from the cut stump. Whoever made the initial cut wasn’t worried with cutting it straight and smooth. There are three different levels to the cut, as if they had made a few mistakes while trying to take the tree down. The stump actually sits about a foot and a half above the ground. I would say they probably cut it down for fear it may fall and damage the house.

The original trunk is significantly larger than the new branches growing from it. At probably a two-foot diameter, I can only imagine what it used to look like. It is almost impossible for me to do so. It is as if an entirely different type of tree is growing from the carcass of the old one. The difference in thickness doesn’t strike me as much as the bark does.

The new bark on the thin branches is light brown. When I touch them, it doesn’t feel like regular bark. There are small bumps all over, but they’re relatively smooth to touch. I can’t imagine that the bark is very thick based on the size of the branches. Dark, jagged bark covers the stump. It is thick, like you would think of when you think of the typical tree. The complete opposite of the new tree growing from it.

I don’t know the science of trees and how they live and grow that well. It seems to me that this new tree growing in my yard is entirely different than the one that used to stand tall there. I want to know how it works, how these branches are able to grow from the cut stump. Why do they look so different?

Blog Post 1

Trees are a resilient force. Their roots dig deep into the ground and they can grow back from almost nothing. When they get cut down to their stump, people don’t expect them to grow back over years. They will grow back and adjust to their surroundings. They can grow around what is in their path, like a fence.

The tree in my yard was clearly never expected to grow where it did. I can see that some time ago, the house that I live in did not plan on having a fence on its perimeter. Or maybe the tree was even there before my house. Someone at some moment, decided to cut the tree in the backyard down, and a fence was built on top of the trunk.

Now the tree is back. Twisting and curling around the openings of the fence, growing up both sides of it. Instead of one solid, thick trunk, it has seven thinner bases. Each part of the trunk points in different direction. It makes me wonder what it used to look like. The base of the trunk is still wide, but narrows quickly as it runs out of room to expand.

Was it as large and full as one of the trees in the park down the street? Did it look like the tree out front that was planted in between the sidewalk and street? The one that was planted when it was small and meant to be a nice decoration but is now full sized, with roots tearing up the sidewalk above. I will never actually know.