Had a good walk in the woods. Found a bird band with bones still attached. Found a nice sized burl in a cedar tree. Cleared a trail that was made impassable due to broken trees from the 1998 Great Ice Storm. I can now walk to the clearing among the cedars. Found a bush with some very bright red and orange berries that will probably look nice in a Christmas wreath.

Bird band: It is an aluminum ring with a blue turquoise plastic outer sleeve and bones inside, probably the remains of scats of a predator which could be a hawk most likely, or a fox or coyote. The inscription on the band reads as follows CU GTR 2002 2279.

Burn Scars in Tree Rings

Cut a white ash tree [Fraxinus americana L.] to make the posts for the upstairs railing of our house. Noticed a burn scar in the tree rings. By counting the rings I conclude that there was a fire on the south side of the tree in the spring of 1968. This confirms the fact that the barn that is in the 1946 aerial photograph burned down. This was already evident in the door hardware that was found strewn on the ground and the concert foundation of a building. The door hardware still had the nuts with the bolts fastened to it which belies a fire. The hardware was interesting in that you can not find these sorts of door latches today. There are rotting wooden remains plus iron wheels and parts - of a very old log-hauling wagon about 50 feet or 20 yards west of the barn foundation. It did not burn which is odd, as it is probably over 100 years old.