If a tree grows in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it still grow?

A drive a couple of days ago into the fringe of the backwoods reminded me that it has been awhile since I wandered alone out into the East Texas forests. There are a number of reasons for that. Right now, the only way to wander is if you are in an automobile with good air conditioning because we have been trapped in freakish 100-plus-degree heat for too long now.

When I say “fringe” I really mean it. The area in which I was riding is within a certified metropolitan area, specifically the one which includes Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties in Southeast Texas. The 2009 Census estimates for these counties in what is called the “Beaumont-Port Arthur” metropolitan area (Sorry Silsbee, Kountze and Lumberton!) was about 380,000 people. That isn’t exactly the sticks but it also isn’t Manhattan.

Nevertheless, I like places where I have the ability to be out of earshot of any sounds other than that noisy rustling of pine needles in the wind or the occasional obnoxious jackhammer on wood sound of the woodpecker. It is in such areas where I like to sit and think, take a look at nature’s work and try to figure out just how good I have become over the years at determining the type of local trees.

Now that sounds easier than it really is. I mean, if you grew up in the Piney Woods of East Texas as I did, you ought to know your trees, right? Wrong. I spent a lot of time in the woods growing up and I could tell you the difference between your species of local pines — loblolly, shortleaf, longleaf, or slash. And you’d come to know the type of tree you may have fallen out of while climbing or while swinging from a tire such as a pecan, or oak, or chinaberry. But let’s face it, when you’re in the forest full of trees, especially during the summer when the leaves all form a green canopy, the trees all seem to look alike. That is, they look as such if you fail to take a good look at them.

Driving in the fringes the other day I did see what appeared to be a couple of fairly young bald cypress trees standing on the edge of a creek or bayou. I have seen enough cypress in my years to know you find them around streams with their large fluted trunks and their weird looking roots, or knees, growing out of the water. Most cypress I have seen were old. Some are huge and have been around for more time than we have to talk about.

I learned about pine trees from my brother Billy, who as a young man worked for a timber company before he worked as a career in the refining biz. I even planted some young pine seedlings but couldn’t tell you if they’ve grown or where they are. If so, these trees are between 40-50 years old and could be quite a tree.

In the area in which I was raised, pine was the cash crop. Once, in the time of my parents, one could still see some of the virgin longleaf pine trees which flourished where I grew up. I remember this one picture, it might have been of my Dad, with his arms almost all the way around one of these great trees. But it took awhile to grow these and one could not always find the sandy soil these longleafs needed in many areas outside the little three-or-four county strip in which they grew.

So the timber companies planted faster-growing trees such as loblolly or shortleaf, pine trees which could produce some considerable board feet of lumber in a mere 20 or so years.

This brings up a whole lot of discussion I don’t particularly care to have at this time such as “clear-cutting vs. selective harvesting.” I’m not saying that it is not a worthwhile debate. I just don’t want to get into right here and right now.

At various times in my life in East Texas I have explored a good many trees and took an up close look at them so if I saw them again I might know what kind they were. There were a plethora — in other words a butt-load — and still are of different oaks. There are your blackjack oaks, pin oaks, shumard oaks, red oaks, white oaks. A few different types of hickories can be found all over East Texas as well. Also prominent are the often tall sweetgums which are colorful in the Fall and produce a spiky though not too sharp ball which was good for combat, or flinging, among kids.

You can find as well the thorny-branched bois-d’arc, a.k.a. osage-orange. The French name refers to its usage as “bow wood” for longbows. I once did a story about a man who lived in a house boat on the Sabine river. This fellow, a retired refinery worker whom in his younger days fronted a rock band in the Southwest Louisiana honky-tonks, made some of these bows out of the bois-d’arc. He handmade some very amazing and beautiful bows with this versatile wood.

An interesting tree which was in a small thicket next to my farm house near Woden, Texas, in my college days was the devil’s walking stick, or Hercules club with its thorny trunk, certainly not good for climbing but perhaps with other good uses. It is one of a two different trees, the Spiny Ash being another, which are sometimes called “toothache trees” because its bark was used in the old days to treat toothaches.

There are plenty trees to explore out there especially in the East and Southeast Texas woods. Oh I didn’t mention the mimosa, which was a native Asian tree which grew up and spread from abandoned lots? There is also, speaking of M’s, the stately magnolia with its beautiful white flower. I only mentioned the mimosa because I hit one in my parent’s Dodge pickup while learning to drive. I ended up banging my knee underneath the dash — leaving a humongous knot and me limping for about a week — but I learned how to steer in wet sand after that.

Plenty of books exist on recognizing trees wherever one might be. Here is a good place to start if you’re interested in Texas trees. Just make sure if you are out in the elements that the weather is bearable and you watch for pesky and potentially dangerous animals whether they be ticks, bears, snakes or snake-oil salesmen.

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