Happy Tree Tuesday! - Trees at Hawthorne Park in Medford, Oregon

Well, I just found out about "Tree Tuesday." How did I not know about this before?  I'm often the last person to find out about these things.  But, now I know!  And I LOVE trees.  As a matter of fact - while at Hawthorne Park in Medford the other day with my daughter, I took many photos of trees, their bark and some of their knot holes that I thought were cool.  Here are the photos for Tree Tuesday!

First I thought I'd just photograph the bark on all the different trees because I noticed that each tree seemed to have different bark texture - which was kinda cool.  

Here are some of the knot holes I found.  They are all different.Knot holes are created when a branch is cut off or broken off.  The tree bark sometimes grows over it or around it.  It becomes a scar.  Some of them look like eyes, or other shapes.

Then, I noticed a tree over at the far eastern side of the park.  It sort of looked like two trees that had grown together a long time ago.  Their bark had joined together in the middle, and created something that almost looked like a waterfall of bark.  

On the other side of the tree I saw that there was a plaque...

And a cool knot hole...

Here's what the plaque says:

The plaque reads:

"THIS METASEQUOIA-DAWN TREE DEDICATED JUNE 1952 IN MEMORY OF SARAH WHITMAN ANDRUS BY MEDFORD GARDEN CLUB"

I just looked up this type of tree.  According to wikipedia, Metasequoia (or Dawn Redwood) is one of only three kinds of redwood tree species in the world.  It is the shortest of the redwoods.  But it's still tall usually growing at least 200 feet.  It is fast- growing, and is native to the Lichuan County in Hubei Province of China.  Wikipedia also says that the local villagers refer to the original tree (which others are taken from) as Shui-sa or "water tree".  And, giving the water fall looking bark, I agree with the name "water tree."

Here are a couple more photos of this tree:

Then I spotted a little ginkgo tree.  I liked how the sunlight seemed to stream through the leaves...

Ginkgo Biloba is another tree native to China.  Ginkgo is used a supplement which is supposed to enhance cognitive function - meaning it's supposed to make you smarter!  I have eaten Ginkgo leaves in the past - not very yummy!  I love the shape of their leaves.  There are no other leaves of that shape - on any other tree or plant that I'm aware of.

Thanks for reading about the trees I found at Hawthorne Park in Medford.  Many people just go there with their kids because of the great playground and water spray park there, but I think they are totally missing the amazing trees that are right there, giving them shade.

Happy "Tree Tuesday!!"