The osage tree

Osage trees grow in gnarly, twisting style. They have many branches and intimidating thorns. These qualities made them uniquely qualified as windbreak hedges on plains farms and as fences to keep cattle in place. Osage trees planted in a row produced a nearly impenetrable fence, sort of like natural barbed wire and chain link. The tree did not rust and was self maintaining.

Osage trees produce an inedible orange sized fruit in late summer and fall. They are called osage oranges or hedge apples. Squirrels like to pick them apart for the seeds and thereby reproducing the trees.




A part of Bittersweet Woods was a farm 50 years ago. There are several groups of osage trees in the woods which no doubt served as cattle fences. One incredible group of three large trees behind the house continue to grow despite being uprooted decades ago. The osage trees grow despite laying on the ground. Every year they project new large thorny branches up in the air, waiting to snatch our caps and snag our clothes as we mow the yard. The osage oranges begin dropping in August. Dozens of them roll down the hill into the back yard. Gabbie and Tess love to play with the oranges.



What amazes me is the hardiness of these trees. They grow no matter what. The wood is excellent firewood, burning slow and white hot, almost like coal. Osage wood is a bright yellow color. Cutting the wood produces bright yellow sawdust, cascading like gold dust over the ground and boots. The grain is so tough that it causes the cutting chain on a chainsaw to rub against the bar, generating occasional sparks.

I'd love to have more of this firewood. But the tree is so hardy, there are few opportunities to find dead or downed wood.

Osage is one of the unexpected curiosities that we discovered when we moved to Bittersweet Woods. It is with us all the time; I admire the tree for its hardiness. And every time we see an osage orange, it reminds us fondly of every dog we have owned since living here. They love to play with the oranges.

Change of seasons

The nice thing about living in the midwest is seeing the change of seasons. At least that is the response that we invoke when apologizing for the crummy cold, damp, gray portions of winter.

We are doing that change of season thing now, in October. Leaves are starting to drop. Firewood is piled up to record heights, thanks to 4 large tree blowdowns earlier in the summer. We've already enjoyed fires in the fireplace (that is the preferred location for fires). My favorite woods are locust and osage wood. They burn like coal - slowly with white hot coals and a low flame.

Soon most of the wildlife will be gone, or at least less obvious. Butterflies, birds, snakes, cicadas, crickets, hummingbirds, praying mantises (is that really the plural of mantis?, tree frogs, and other critters will vacate until spring. It will be quiet, except for the trickling stream, semi trucks on the interstate, and occasional winds whipping through the pine trees. Meanwhile, we'll recall our friendly (mostly) warm weather visitors with a few photos from this past summer. And look forward to seeing them again soon.









Click to enlarge and notice the spikes on the hind legs of this katydid - the spikes that produce the signature chirping/clicking sound.

But late fall and winter can be beautiful in its own way. Bright oranges, reds, and violet tones will blossom, then fade. Grays and browns will settle in. Evergreens stand out in their green or blue uniforms. Gabbie and Tess's white coats will be accented against the drab woods as they dart after deer.

It reminds me of the Mamas and Papas song California Dreamin, “all the leaves are brown,....and the sky is gray." Instead of California dreaming, we'll be dreaming of spring and summer which will come soon enough to Bittersweet Woods.