Oak Abuse #548

These photos are of the same huge California white oak (Quercus lobata) north & west of Paso Robles, CA (can you tell from recent posts I have been spending a lot of time in that part of the world delivering bird netting for vineyards?  I have about a dozen more posts ready to go resulting from these drives through oak-laden vineyard country!).

I don't know why stuff like this bugs me so much, but it just does.

By my count that's eleven nails within about a square foot.

(Click to enlarge)

 

I would conservatively estimate the number of nails pounded into this (approximately 2.5ft diameter) tree at three or four goo-gobs.  Do the nails harm the tree?  No, not really - although they could severely harm the poor soul who might someday have to cut down or section it with a chainsaw.  To me it's more indicative of a mindset, of how people so often think of trees as telephone poles with branches and leaves.  Instead of vice versa.  Or something like that.

 

All I know is that's one heck of a lot of posters for a tree on a very lightly traveled country road.  What are they posting?  Lost cat flyers? Probably better off asking the local coyotes.  Barn dance announcements?  Posting of indictments/contradictions of Catholic teachings?  Soon-to-be-disregarded Indian treaties?  Hard to say; I have never actually seen something posted here.

Same tree:

(Click to enlarge)

 

Another in my series of "oak tree as fencepost" photographs (none of which have I posted here, so don't waste time looking.  He said, as if you had actually planned to look.).

Again, is this especially harmful to the tree?  Eh.  It is of course better than wrapping wire completely around the tree and eventually girdling it.  It's not precisely bad for the tree, but for crying out loud would it be that hard to drive a fencepost a couple of feet away?

And again, I'm glad I won't be the guy with the chainsaw in hand cutting it down someday.