Walking across a nearby wildlife 'sanctuary' it is not easy to forget that this was once well-used farmland.
It becomes obvious if you are observant that this land once was agricultural. Above and below are the remains of a barbed wire fence bleeding out from a trunk with only a faint line to show the scar. A fence that kept something in or perhaps something out over a hundred years ago.
This beech tree has swallowed the wire remains. This looks painful!
Above in another area, these three trees in the two photos above...or perhaps one tree with three new sprouts...shows even uglier scars from a wire fence elsewhere along the trail. I wish we could be like some European countries that used rock walls to define property and spaces as they seem to age with grace. Barbed wire is so American. Of course, many of the areas in Europe with the rock walls have NO trees to work around as they were all cut down.
This beech tree has swallowed the wire remains. This looks painful!
Above in another area, these three trees in the two photos above...or perhaps one tree with three new sprouts...shows even uglier scars from a wire fence elsewhere along the trail. I wish we could be like some European countries that used rock walls to define property and spaces as they seem to age with grace. Barbed wire is so American. Of course, many of the areas in Europe with the rock walls have NO trees to work around as they were all cut down.
I love hedges because they are full of life, flowers, animals, birds.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a tree actually absorbing wire before, although I have seen many which grow round foreign objects.
i rather like the rock walls as well...they have character...sad to see these scars you know...
ReplyDeleteFences are a result of what's locally available. In the west we did not have rocks or excess timber to make a rail fence. the rock and rail fences had a much longer life and had some beauty.
ReplyDeleteRight, Red, but I do not live in the west. We have lots of rocks and hedges grow like weeds here.
ReplyDeleteWe have a great number of trees on our property and my spouse was astounded by the way the previous owners had wrapped barbed wire around many of them. The first thing he did was remove the wire around the trees then remove all the barbed wire from our property. We grieve when a tree dies.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how nature can reclaim what is originally theirs to begin with.
ReplyDeleteRural fences were constructed with whatever was plentiful or easiest to work with at that time.
We can look to Central America to see how Mayan pyramids are reclaimed by the jungles that surround them.
Fascinating to come upon evidence like this of what the landscape was or might have been in the past. I wonder what in years to come folk will make of what we leave? Thanks for a very thought-provoking post.
ReplyDeleteMy land has many of these trees where barb wire was used.
ReplyDeleteLooks painful...
That reminds me of home (not the wire cuts, but the trees.) I agree, it wasn't the fault of those trees that they sprung root on a property line.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Tabor. I think it is just laziness that they fixed their wire to the tree instead of putting in a fence post - Dave
ReplyDeletePoor little trees... Barbed wire may do some good --and many people use it, but it can also (as you showed) do some damage....
ReplyDeleteWhen I was trying to find ways to save my Bluebirds from snakes, someone told me to get some barbed wire and put it at the bottom of the pole. I just couldn't do that... We ended up getting a new baffle. Hope it works since there are babies in the nest....
Hugs,
Betsy
Hi, I just found your superb blog. I too am a lover of nature, I feed the birds and squirrels in my backyard and get so much pleasure from just sitting on the back porch and watching them as they come to eat and use the birdbaths. We have a lot of barbwire fences out here in the west, but in our desert area there are not many trees except in residential areas. Fences posts and barbwire, it was the cheapest way to contain cattle from staying onto the road. Farmers and ranchers had to do want worked. The rock walls of Europe are beautiful, but 95% of them were built before barbwire was invented. They were part of clearing the land of rocks and took many long laborious hours and painful nights of major backache to build. In a way those trees are an artifact of our history.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very informative and the photography is very pleasing. I enjoyed my visit. Connie :)
The ability of a tree to survive so many deep scars is amazing. There's a lesson in strength, endurance and survival in these trees.
ReplyDelete