Magnificent Magnolia may have antebellum roots

A beautiful Magnolia.  

The big tree from about 100 feet away

I rousted the dog out and we walked down to the same pecan orchard we crossed this morning. This time we had to cross the tick filled cogongrass without the help of a trail. The grass which in some places grows chest high is difficult to cross but the destination made it worth it.  We were walking to a very old magnolia the size of which I have never witnessed until I stumbled onto this one.  I photographed the trunk with the dog standing next to it to give some sense of the size.  The dog is about 5 feet from nose to tail so you can see that the trunk is very wide.     A couple of the branches that extend from the trunk are at least 2 feet in diameter and they travel out nearly horizontal for about 20 feet.  This tree is in the middle of the orchard so it must have been very large when the orchard was planted to have been spared.  I have a feeling that someone lived under or nearby because there is a crepe myrtle growing to one side.  There is also evidence that there was some kind of building on the ground in several places around the tree.  The folks who own the orchard almost never come here and I have only seen a few of the family members here once while they were shooting squirrels. A very large wisteria vine has grown up into the tree on one side and appears to be ancient itself.  The vine has a massive trunk of about 5 inches.  I viewed a couple of old magnolias online and I would think that this one probably predates the civil war period.  This area at that time was most likely untamed wilderness with only the occasional hunter passing through the woods.  This tree is a gift to us from the distant past.  My hope is that this old timer will see another hundred years of peace and quiet in the orchard.   Thanks for coming by tonight.  

Grand Bay, Land of the escapees

The dog walks ahead in the tall Cogongrass.  

This morning the dog and  I walked over to another of those untended pecan orchards that are near my home.  As we headed into the orchard I discovered that the dreaded four wheeler's have been here before me. But today they have done me a favor by knocking down a path through the high congongrass.   Once again I have to tell you about a plant that has made a new home here in our area.  The high grass you see on each side of the path is cogangrass.  According to the University of Florida this grass got it's start in the U.S.  right here in good old Grand Bay, Alabama in 1912.   Apparently it fell out of some satsuma packing crates from Japan and from there it has spread like wild fire.   It was accidentally introduced into Mississippi in 1926 when a cattle farmer wanted to use it as feed for his cattle.  I have plenty of experience with the grass.  I go into the fields after it is cut by land owners and I gather it and bring it home. It makes an excellent seed free mulch that stays in place after it has been sprayed with water. I have been using the seed free cut grass for years now with no noticeable spread into my garden.   The grass in the fields will produce a tremendous number of seeds in the spring which are covered with down.    The wind blows the down and the seeds far and wide quickly spreading the plants.   Eradication is difficult so the Cogongrass continues it's march.   My view is that if something becomes a nuisance we cannot eliminate,  we should learn how to use it or how to eat it.  So I will use it.  The dog and I continued on down the path to the edge of the forest where the path travels into the woods.   People use this path to bring pig traps into the woods.   This area is in a round about way near the pig farm where the pigs have escaped and become feral.  The more I write about Grand Bay the more it seems like this place has basically been over run by people, animals, plants and insects from somewhere else.  I am discovering that the way things have always been is not always the way things have always been.  It is an interesting journey.  Thanks for reading today.  Bye.