Overcoming Obstacles

From the look of this old stump no one would think anything special was happening, just another old growth stump in the process of decay that takes about 200 years to break down all the nutrients of this once majestic, tall fir.

But a walk around to the other side of the old stump brings a surprise.

A new tree seedling had started growing about 50 years ago in the decay of the old stump. Since no soil could be found the seedling used the stump to sink his roots into. The new tree is the one on the right.

What looks like a gnarled knee is a root from the new tree burrowing into what had been the heart of the rotting stump. That old stump has shrunk in size every year as the outer decay slumps and flakes off. The ‘knee’ continued to grow bigger and bigger each year keeping the young tree with goofy but fairly stable footing.

The baby tree now nearing 85 feet tall is not standing straight. There is a danger of falling over during a storm and damaging other trees that are growing in more standard tree fashion. This will be one of the next trees harvested in this patch of the woods to retain the better trees in the stand.