Giant Hollow Sycamore

fossis · Feb 16, 2011

I found this Giant tree in the Summer when I could wade the river, now it's up & I had to take a detour to get pic's.
I parked & walked over a bridge that is up for rebuilding, (condemmed), then had to cross a creek that was as crooked as a snake, (crossed the same one twice) crossing on small beaver dams, crawling up briar covered banks to finally get there.
I saw a Bald Eagle, Racoon, Hawk (catching an animal), two armadillo's, & several Grey Squirells.
After skirting wide to miss the creek, & walking back, Grandpa was 'kinda tired'. :P
I sweated up my cap, it was in the 70's today.
Fossis.........

roy2bears · Feb 16, 2011

i like your pics. where is the condemed bridge?

fossis · Feb 16, 2011

roy2bears said:
i like your pics. where is the condemed bridge?

Welcome Roy, i'll send you a PM.

Fossis............

scotto · Feb 16, 2011

Nice pics as always Fossis. That tree is wild, you could sit in there! Maybe a neat place to hide and get a deer next season?

They still haven't fixed that bridge yet? Somebody is gonna get hurt before they do, don't let it be you.

fossis · Feb 16, 2011

scotto said:
Nice pics as always Fossis. That tree is wild, you could sit in there! Maybe a neat place to hide and get a deer next season?

They still haven't fixed that bridge yet? Somebody is gonna get hurt before they do, don't let it be you.

Thanks Scotto, It would be a great 'duck blind', it's right on the river bank.
The bridge is blocked off (no vehicles), that makes two for our County, it makes it hard on folks to drive out of the way to get home.

Mike in Berks · Feb 16, 2011

That tree is huge Fossis. An without the rifle being there it would look like any other ordinary tree. Just so you know i do understand why you carry it. Never know what you run into in the forest.

Great nature photos :icon_thumright:

fossis · Feb 16, 2011

Mike in Berks said:
That tree is huge Fossis. An without the rifle being there it would look like any other ordinary tree. Just so you know i do understand why you carry it. Never know what you run into in the forest.

Great nature photos

I know where there is one larger, I need to go get a pic of it before Summer & snakes.

Fossis............

hammered · Feb 16, 2011

That is one big gnarley tree you have there, almost like something from "sleepy hollow" :tongue3:

. The rest of your pics show what a beautiful place you live in. I am going to go for a long walk and try to emulate your photo's, but I think I'm going to fail somehow :wink:

.

hammered

fossis · Feb 17, 2011

hammered said:
That is one big gnarley tree you have there, almost like something from "sleepy hollow" . The rest of your pics show what a beautiful place you live in. I am going to go for a long walk and try to emulate your photo's, but I think I'm going to fail somehow .

hammered

The Sycamores are hardy breeds, they break, & grow more limbs, become hollow, & still grow.
We are 'blessed' with lots of Wild Scenic places in this Country.

Fossis............

naturegirl · Feb 17, 2011

old trees.... here ya go fossis, if you'll permit me. this was shared with me at work today, it's my new favorite song....

naturegirl, aka treehugger

fossis · Feb 17, 2011

Thanks for sharing, if they could only tell their stories of what they have seen.

Fossis.............

allen · Feb 18, 2011

great pics all the way around !!

fossis · Feb 18, 2011

allen said:
great pics all the way around !!

Thanks Allen. :icon_sunny:

Fossis...............

packerbacker · Feb 18, 2011

A couple of those stumps look like they were saw-cut. Who would have been cutting in there or is it pretty public property there?

fossis · Feb 18, 2011

packerbacker said:
A couple of those stumps look like they were saw-cut. Who would have been cutting in there or is it pretty public property there?

The pic's of the stumps were taken in a different area (U.S. Forest), where they harvest the timber.
On the (Corp of Engineers) where the big tree is, no cutting unless trees fall, then you can get a permit for firewood.

Fossis............

packerbacker · Feb 18, 2011

Ahhhhhhhh..........I was wondering why anyone would cut those smaller trees when they had the big ones nearby.

VanGone · Feb 18, 2011

fossis said:
I found this Giant tree in the Summer when I could wade the river, now it's up & I had to take a detour to get pic's.
I parked & walked over a bridge that is up for rebuilding, (condemmed), then had to cross a creek that was as crooked as a snake, (crossed the same one twice) crossing on small beaver dams, crawling up briar covered banks to finally get there.
I saw a Bald Eagle, Racoon, Hawk (catching an animal), two armadillo's, & several Grey Squirells.
After skirting wide to miss the creek, & walking back, Grandpa was 'kinda tired'. :P
I sweated up my cap, it was in the 70's today.
Fossis.........

Enjoyed the adventure Fossis,you sure have some different shaped trees down your way.We have some large oaks here in Iowa that go back several hundred years. Ya know we go through this life on such a fast pace that we miss some of the real beauty that's out there. Thanks to you Fossis you keep us in tune with it all. Thanks.
Ed

fossis · Feb 18, 2011

You're welcome ED.

Fossis............

kc in wv · Feb 21, 2011

Great pictures. Seeing the size of the Sycamore tree reminded me of some WV History where some of the early settlers lived in Sycamore trees. In trying to find the names I found out that it was common throughout early American history for people to live in Sycamore's when they first moved into an area. I remember as a young teenager we went to check on a large Sugar Maple that was supposed to be the largest in West Virginia at the time. When we got there there were several calves inside the cavety at the base of it.

Large trees are much more rare nowdays.

fossis · Feb 21, 2011

kc in wv said:
Great pictures. Seeing the size of the Sycamore tree reminded me of some WV History where some of the early settlers lived in Sycamore trees. In trying to find the names I found out that it was common throughout early American history for people to live in Sycamore's when they first moved into an area. I remember as a young teenager we went to check on a large Sugar Maple that was supposed to be the largest in West Virginia at the time. When we got there there were several calves inside the cavety at the base of it.

Large trees are much more rare nowdays.

Thanks, I had never heard that story, but it makes sense, (ready made shelter).
These trees only survived because in 1948 the Corps of Engineers bought the land & built a dam, moving all the people out of the 'Bottomlands', otherwise they would have been cut, thanks for your story. :thumbsup: