Cottonwood and snakes

I think a year or so or more I posted about a large Eastern Cottonwood that I'd been plotting to climb. At the time I'd never climbed cottonwood and was feeling very cautious about a species that is notorious for having weak wood. In the meantime I climbed a few smaller cottonwoods, installed a Kestrel nesting box in one and started to get a sense of the structural characteristics of the species.

On assessment of the tree it appeared to be sound, very little deadwood for a wild tree and no indicators of trunk rot. I recently measured it with a clinometer and rangefinder using the Eastern Native Tree Society measuring guidelines (sine top/sine bottom method) and came up with 110.45 height and 13' 6\" circumference at breast height.

In the last month I've climbed the tree 3 times, first solo then brought two other climbers into it. The small branches remind me of the upper branches on White Pine, nudge them and they break off. The thick bark is fairly delicate, like a cross between balsa wood and cork. So my climbing approach has been to be deliberate with a very soft touch on the tree to avoid causing damage. For tie-ins I chose strong crotches with roughly double the diameter I would trust in an oak for example.

All that considered a delightful tree to climb and of a scale that is uncommon for deciduous trees in eastern Massachusetts.

TCI facilitator Paul Buck by the trunk


Tree time. I'm up in the second leader, Paul is in the first


Looking down on the lower trunk


About 20 ft. from the tree is an Eastern Garter Snake winter den site. They're just coming out of hibernation to thaw in the sun:


Photos from several visits rolled up into one flickr collection

-moss