Below is a little Sourwood tree I planted about 8 years ago. It was supposed to be a medium sized tree that would provide flowers, fragrance and beautiful fall foliage. Somehow, it was never happy with where I planted it and while it did all of the above, it remained stunted. Then this Spring, I saw something sad.
Yes, it blossomed out and developed foliage, but when I was mowing the other day I was shocked to see what had happened.
The whole trunk had been eaten away and you could actually see through a section. Yet with that gaping wound, it has still managed leaves. Click on picture to see the horror up close.
This is what the little tree should look like. I wonder what the sentence is for tree abuse and neglect. My tree is screaming "Me Too." I am so sorry---mea culpa. Still you have to admire the little tree's will to live. Don't think I could survive with a huge hole in my middle.
You have seen the picture in my last post of the Red-bellied Woodpecker who has made my hummingbird feeder his personal fast food hang out. Well this seems to be the year of the big guys, for now I have a pair of Orioles also hanging out.
Now they are not rare at nectar feeders but truth be told, these are the first I have seen in over 60 years. Wow, they are flashy birds and I do love orange. I am pleased but I hope they don't run off the little guys. So far they are all sharing.
Maybe Mom Nature has forgiven me for my tree abuse and is letting me enjoy a show at the feeder. I'll take it.
Does Mom Nature continue to surprise you?
The harsh winters will cause rabbits and other creatures to get the bark off trees and the smaller ones can't take the abuse. The open bark like you've got will make them get diseases easily. If it survives the summer you'll want to get some protection on the bottom two feet before winter. They have wraps and plastic tubing to choose from.
ReplyDeleteEvery since reading about your woodpecker at a sweet station I've been trying to get my woodpeckers to do the same.
Jean,
DeleteYes, I have heard that voles which I have in abundance will do that also. I do hope it survives summer.
I hope you get one of the sugar addict woodpeckers. They are a sight to see hanging from the feeder.
Such a brave little tree! Perhaps you could ask at your local nursery for the appropriate TLC to give it?
ReplyDeleteRiver,
DeleteYou are right, I am calling in an expert. Dr. Google has mixed solutions. Hopefully my Master Gardener friend will have an idea.
Boy, that is one determined tree. I hope it makes it, I really do. It deserves it. You should put out some oranges for those orioles like some other blogging friends do. :-)
ReplyDeleteDjan,
DeleteIt is really trying. I guess if the green layer just under the bark remains in tact, it can survive.
I saw that too and did put out some navel oranges and they are ripping through them.
I hope there is a way to help that little tree, reward it for its incredible determination. Really nice to that oriole.
ReplyDeleterobin,
DeleteMe too. It deserves some help after the effort it has put in. The oriole was a thrill for me. I was beginning to think they were a myth.
Love having birds around my house. I was walking up to my apartment and I heard the chirp of a red bird. I knew it right away from the bird visits at my old house. Miss those days and my little bird friends.
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
DeleteI know I would miss them also if I moved. I love all the chatter and singing I hear when I go out to lay in my hammock. Worth the price of bird food.
Dear Patti, a Facebook/Blogger I follow is Betsy Adams and recently on Facebook she wrote about seeing a Baltimore Oriole for the first time ever in her life. She lives in the South.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to the tree: do you have any idea how that happened? Did a dear perhaps eat the bark?
Mother Nature surprises all the time now as we move deeper and deeper into climate change. We recently had tornadoes pass through here and the rain that accompanied it was "biblical"! That was a surprise. Peace.
Dee,
DeletePossibly the really cold winter we had caused it along with critters attacking the bark.
So glad you dodged the bullet with the storms. They can be scary.
Oh Yes---Mother Nature is amazing... Sometimes 'she' is amazing in a good way and sometimes not so much....We weren't happy with her during all of the April freezes --which damaged a bunch of our roses and lilies....
ReplyDeleteYou little tree is TRYING HARD to live. We've seen so many trees through the years growing out of rocks or in places where nothing should be able to grow or live... That is AMAZING.
I saw an Oriole at our feeders this past week for the first time since I've been feeding birds here. I need to put out an orange or some grape jelly to see if he will come back. They are gorgeous birds...
I did a review (like you did) of Dee Ready's book today... I think it is a good read.
Hugs,
Betsy
Betsy,
DeleteI have seen pictures you have posted of trees growing out of rocks. The will to live is amazing.
Isn't it odd that several of us who haven't seen Orioles now have them at our feeders? Where have they been all these years? I did buy them some navel oranges and they are scarfing them up.
We had a pair of Orioles at our hummingbird feeder last week! I have never seen that before but I did read that they like sugar water. They were beautiful. Your poor little tree is trying hard to survive. Maybe you can treat it with something to kill the insects.
ReplyDeleteBonnie,
DeleteYou, me and Betsy are enjoying those orange visitors. Wonder what the draw is this year. They are so pretty--orange is my favorite color.
I am calling in an expert to check my tree to see if it can be saved.
I miss the orioles and the cardinals too. I love how colorful they are. I'm so sorry about your tree. It's hard when they get injured. There were five trees planted by humans here when we moved in. So far only one survived the drought and one decided to make a comeback with suckers growing out of the dead tree trunk. It's so sad when they die. I hope yours will make it.
ReplyDeleteInger,
DeleteAs poor a birder as I am, I gravitate towards the really colorful, easy to identify birds. They look like ornaments in the trees. Hope your trying for a comeback tree makes it. It has the will to live.
We have 2 red headed woodpeckers that hang around our backyard. Since reading your post about the woodpeckers drinking from the hummingbird feeders, we put out 3 hummingbird feeders in the trees. So far they continue to eat the catfood and have ignored the feeders. But we are watching to see if either of them get curious for a sugar high.
ReplyDeleteRain,
DeleteI Googled it and red headed woodpeckers have been seen at the feeders as well as the red bellied ones. Don't worry, once they taste sugar, they will be hooked.
The show Mom Nature puts on here in May is startling in its beauty. But we have no orange birds.
ReplyDeleteLinda R,
DeleteHang in there. I didn't see any orange ones either till this year. Perhaps the climate is moving them.
Are you sure the woodpecker hasn't pecked your poor little tree to death? Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteBetty,
DeleteHa ha. Perhaps when he was high on sugar he went on a rampage:))
That is amazing that your tree is fighting to live. Maybe fertilizer would help? Woodpeckers are fun to see. We used to see them in Illinois outside our window but I could never get a photo because it moved too much. Happy Spring, Patti!
ReplyDeleteKay,
DeleteI will do what I can for it if only to honor its will to live.
I think the Orioles are moving south as two other bloggers have noticed them this year.
Maybe the true needs a stake to help give it a little more support?
ReplyDeleteIsn't mother nature amazing? As soon as I get outside and look at the garden and see things that I thought were dead regrowing I'm amazed. It's a sobering thought to know that most of it will out live me.
Joey,
DeleteThat is not a bad idea. I will check with my extension agent about staking.
Sadly, just about all of this will out live us.
I heard that we don't see orioles in VT so much anymore because of the elm trees being gone. The delicate balance of nature.
ReplyDeleteOlga,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering why all the sightings in the more southern states lately. When you see them in Florida we will know just how out of whack things are. Nature is evolving and so are its creatures.
Trees are amazing the way they keep on living with holes and cracks in them. I have a redbud tree that has a huge hole in the middle of the trunk and smaller ones in other areas. It still blooms and puts on leaves every spring. I have never seen a real live oriole. I have heard others say they are seeing them at their feeders this year. I would love to see one at my place. Hugs
ReplyDeleteMaggie,
DeleteThank you for the encouragement. If your redbud made it, there is hope for my sourwood. Keep your eyes peeled. I think the Orioles are heading south. This is my first sighting.
You are just so creative. Our trees, Alders, are dying, and the replacements are awful. I ignore them unless they start dying too. I think we have ground squirrels here.
ReplyDeleteMage,
DeleteDon't ya hate it when a whole species of trees suffers like has happened to your Alders? We are doing something wrong.
Yes Mom nature does surprise. We had ice storm two weekends ago and this weekend wind storms that took off roofs and knocked over trees and power lines. And spring has yet to come into bloom.
ReplyDeleteI love baltimore orials. Saw some about 4 years ago in our area. This year birds are struggling due to bad weather.
I wonder if a miracle can save the tree?
Heidrun,
DeleteIt may take a miracle though Maggie gives me hope. Sounds like you really had a pip of a storm. Glad you are safe with no damage.
Always...it seems she loves to suprise me every year. I just replanted a yellow belle that I have had for about three or four years that is only about a foot tall, with no leaves or flowers. Just moving it to a sunnier site and it is coming alive. Speaking of hummers...I have put out a feeder twice now, and left both until the water turned icky...and even though the hummers are coming to my window, they are not going to my feeder. I don't know what's up with them!
ReplyDeleteYour tree has a strong will to survive...I bet it will eventually grow up, even with a hole in it!
Terri,
DeleteI should have moved it years ago when it failed to prosper. I think it might be too sick to survive a transplant now. Bad Patti.
Luckily, you don’t have moose there or the treee would be nipped off at the ground! Glad you’re gettting lots of birds this year. I’m at the beach and the pelicans are entertaining me.
ReplyDeleteBarb,
DeleteLucky you to be enjoying the beach as well as pelicans. They certainly are the clowns of the bird world.
I know how sad it will be to see a large hollow on the tree which have been planted in love. Is that nothing van be done for it...
ReplyDeleteNice to see the birds coming to the feeder:)
Weekend-Windup.
DeleteI am checking to see if there is anything
I can do to help. The new birds have been a nice surprise this year.
Mother Nature will win.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to give up on something we have planted with the best on intentions, but I would start over with another tree in a better place.