Date: 09-30
Location: South of Waller hall entrance
Time: 1357-1415
Weather: Sunny, 71˚F
Heading back from Riverfront Park, where I acquainted myself with Tom McCall’s fishing statue, I heard a cricket literally on the railroad tracks. Was it injured and crying out for help? It was unusual since I heard crickets at twilight and into the night, usually chirping to attract mates. Once I reached the quad though, I suddenly noticed one of the horse chestnut trees had undergone severe surgery. Two large branches were recently cleanly sawed off. One circle was appeared tan and healthy while the smaller one, which faced west, had a black ring around the central white core. I suppose that there may have been an encircling device about that branch or perhaps the phloem died. High up on the remaining bran
ches, I found a squirrel’s nest but after waiting for 15 minutes, none appeared. It was made of a clumsy pile of dead leaves and seemed precarious. The tree had ovate leaves with the narrow tips facing inward. There were 5 to 6 leaves per large leaf. Most of them were yellowing. The rough rectangular bark was peeling in places to reveal reddish wood. The south side had half of its trunk worn away, an old injury. Oddly a concrete corner of a stone building was imbedded into the trunk. I wondered what the building was and how old the tree must have been in order to grow about it. A chestnut I noticed on the ground was partially opened. I prodded it a bit to discover a tripartite section, which surprised me as I had thought nuts to be mostly halves.
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