I was at an outdoor celebration for some friends today. I decided to walk out into the woods a little way, like 15 or 20 feet. I took these pictures. The first thing I saw was this tree that appears to have been struck by lightning. I’ve seen it just after it happens, it leaves a narrow line about 1/4 inch, 6mm, wide running entirely down the side of the tree, with bare wood showing. This probably happened a while back, and the gap got wider. It’s near the top of a small mountain.

Then, as I was examining some dead bark on another tree, this cat decided I was OK, and I petted it.



Above is a stump cut years ago, it looks like the heartwood lasted longer than the sap wood. There’s a little spruce tree (I think) growing next to it.











