Black Walnut - Jugulans nigra

I was in the wood shop today…..holding a Black Walnut board, preparing to turn it into the base for weaving a 14” New Tray Basket, when my mind began to wander…..and muse….looking out of our shop window, I could see a similar tree, a Shagbark Hickory, changing colors and dropping its leaves and nuts.  This Black Walnut board in my hands had taken a similar journey through nature and time to reach this moment……With a little help from my own memory and a LOT of help from internet based history, science and news sites, we can put together a picture of the life and times of our tree leading to this board and the history and happenings that surrounded its development….an anthology of sorts…….”The Life and Times of an Old Board”…….

1942:  On a sunny but brisk day in October, a Grey Squirrel uses its strong front teeth to chew through the hard husk-covering of a black walnut seed.  Its chin is stained black this fall from eating mature nuts.  Something startled it at this moment and the nut is dropped to the ground.  Over subsequent days, rain and winds covered the Black Walnut seed in leaves.  Over the winter, leaves and soil built over the nut. Outside the forest, a battle rages to defeat fascist suppressors. Radio waves emitted from the Sun are detected, cyanoacrylate adhesive is invented at Eastman Kodak, and Katharine Cook Briggs/Isabella Briggs Myers produce the first Briggs-Meyers Type Indicator (your humble author = ISTJ).

1943:  Cold temperatures and rainfall primed the walnut to germinate this Spring.  As Allied forces retake North Africa and Italy surrenders to the Allies, a Black Walnut seedling sprouts in a low Piedmont area in central North Carolina.  Around this time, the Toolache Wallaby (Macropus greyi), native of New Zealand and Australia and considered to be the world’s most beautiful kangaroo, goes extinct.  The wife of a US Army medical entomologist becomes the first woman to make an emergency parachute jump from a US Army Air Forces transport plane over Africa. The Desert Bandicoot goes extinct.

1944: Our Black Walnut seedling reaches 24” in height and is developing a thick mass of fine roots.  In the USA, The Negro College Fund is incorporated, while in Britain the prohibition on married women working as teachers is lifted, Iceland declares full independence from Denmark and Allied forces relentlessly push towards Tokyo and Berlin.  The Cascade Mountains Wolf becomes extinct.

1945:  Our Black Walnut seedling, situated in a well-drained site where it receives about 6-7 hours of full sunlight each day, reaches 5’ in height and lays down its third annual growth ring.  Dorothy Hodgkin & C.H. Carlisle discover the structure of Penicillin and the 61st element in the Periodic Table (Promethium) is discovered at Oak Ridge Laboratories in Tennessee.

1946: Growing at the rate of 13-24” per year, our Black Walnut seedling packs on its fourth growth ring.  Yellow stippling on the leaves appear in Autumn, indicating that Walnut Lace Bugs have been feeding on her leaves.  The UNICEF Fund is established, the Nuremberg Trials commence, women’s suffrage is granted in Japan, bikinis go on sale in Paris to the delight of many and the chagrin of others, the US Army Signal Corps Project “Diana” bounces radar waves off of the Moon and the age of the earth (4.5 billion years) is estimated using Uranium-Lead dating.  None of these events are noticed by our tree.

1947:  Our seedling looses significant leaf tissue to a Red Humped Caterpillar, as it lays down its 5th growth ring.  Russia forms the Eastern Bloc and the Cold War begins…..the question at hand is, “Can a classless society in which all property and wealth are communally-owned, instead of by individuals, exist in the modern world?”  The Independent State of Israel is formed, Bell Labs invents the transistor, and Howard Hughes flies the Spruce Goose for the one and only time.

1948: Our Black Walnut tree pushes upward to a height of 10’ in response to and in its attempt to outgrow, surrounding vegetation.  Juglone, a natural toxin released by our tree’s roots, helps reduce competitive plant growth.  Mahatma Grandi is murdered, the Berlin Airlift begins and the last sighting of the Siberian Tiger is made.  

1949:  Our Black Walnut’s seventh growth ring is laid down.  George Orwell publishes the novel “1984”, NATO is established and the first commercial jet airliner (The De Havilland Comet) makes its first test flight.  Aldo Leopold publishes, “A Sand County Almanac”….“There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot.”

1950: North Korea invades South Korea, Tollund Man (a mummified body from the 4th Century) is found, robbers use Halloween masks to rob the Brinks Armored Car Depot in Boston, MA and the average annual working wage in the USA reaches $3,210.  Walnut Lace Bugs make a second attempt on our tree and sixteen year old Carl Sagan enters The University of Chicago.  The eighth grown ring of our tree is laid down and the Grand Cayman Oriole goes extinct.

1951: Color television is broadcast from the Empire State Building. Progestin Norethisterone is synthesized, leading to the development of the birth control pill, “I Robot” by Isaac Asimov is published and the Bermuda Petrel, thought to be extinct for 300 years, is rediscovered.  50 million cases of smallpox occur.  Cottony cushion scales suck sap from our walnut’s branches, but our tree survives another growing season and proceeds into winter dormancy. The Yemen Gazelle becomes extinct.

1952:  Charles Parker and Joyce Phillips Ross move to North Augusta, South Carolina from Illinois for Chuck’s job at the Savannah River Plant.  As our walnut tree enters its second decade, a Twig Pruner beetle larvae burrows through one of its branches, causing the branch to die.  Smog in London kills over 4,000 people, Mr Potato Head is first sold and Anne Frank’s “Diary of a Young Girl” is published. The San Bernardino Rock Wren goes extinct as its island home is covered by a volcanic eruption and the barcode is patented.  The Caribbean Monk Seal and the Banks Island Wolf each go extinct.

1953:  Several of our tree’s  leaves drop after being infected with anthracnose.  Jonas Salk announces his Polio Vaccine, thus reducing every mother’s anxiety every summer.  Crick and Watson publish the structure of DNA at the Cavendish Lab in Cambridge and Piltdown Man is revealed to be a hoax.  A moonshine still explodes a few hundred yards from our tree and the bootlegger’s wife sells the land to a retired businessman from Charlotte, NC.

1954:  Hurricane Hazel pours rain on our tree and winds in excess of 100 mph tears leaves from its branches, and removes a few branches as well.  An 8.5 lb. meteorite crashes through Mrs. Elizabeth Hodges’ roof, hits her radio and gives her a bad bruise, the last confirmed Caspian Tiger is killed near the Sumbar River in Turkmenistan, Richard Doll first recognizes the risks of working with asbestos and the angle grinder is invented in Germany.

1955:  Our tree is growing in a forest associated with a mixture of Yellow Poplar/White Oak/Northern Red Oak, and with Black Cherry, Beech and Hickory.  Several of its siblings grow nearby, but our friend generally stands alone among other tree species.  When the squirrel first dropped our walnut, it landed in a wet bottomland, the wet soil causing our tree to grow relatively slowly with dense rings.  Two babies (one boy and one girl) are born at St. Joseph hospital in Augusta Georgia, 11 months apart. 

1956:  Gilbert Plass publishes his seminal article, "The Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climate Change”, the 'snooze alarm' first appears on alarm clocks and the Hard Disk Drive is invented by Reynold Johnson at IBM.  The Federal Aid Highway Act paves the way for the Interstate Highway System, the Suez Crisis & Elvis Presley both cause a ruckus and the Crescent Nail Tail Wallaby & the Blue-Grey Mouse each go extinct.

1957:  In Bangkok the family of a man named Somsak gather at his bedside and grieve as he breaths his last breath. Across the city a young girl named Sivaporn is born. As it does every year, our Black Walnut Tree flowers in late April, its leaves appearing at about the same time.  In Russia, Sputnik 1 and 2 are launched, and in America the Frisbee and American Bandstand take to the air.

1958:  The Hope Diamond is donated to the Smithsonian Institution, the USS Nautilus (first nuclear powered submarine) crosses under the North Pole and a young lad watches his grandfather in Detroit, MI sawing a board, triggering a persistent desire to became a woodworker himself one day.  Our tree lays down its 18th annual growth ring.  

1959:   The microchip is invented by Jack Kilby (TI) and Robert Noyce (Fairchild Semiconductors).  Our walnut enters its mid-teens at 17 years of age, reaching a height of 25.5 feet, about 1/3 of its future mature height.  Walnut Husk Flies lay eggs in several of our trees nuts, and the larvae burrow through the husks of several, reducing that years number of viable nuts.

 1960: John F. Kennedy wins the US Presidential election, the structures of Hemoglobin and Myoglobin are published, the US Navy Bathescape Trieste reaches the bottom of the Marianas Trench and Jane Goodall makes the first recorded observation of animals (chimpanzees) using tools.  Our tree achieves 27 feet in height, reaching for precious sunlight (blocked by taller surrounding trees and those further upslope) in its crowded bottomland.  The first 2-way radio contact via the moon and earth takes place (1296 MHz).

1961:  Migratory Monarch Butterflies begin their annual cycle flying south across Canada, the United States and into Mexico, once again making a mockery of humankind’s national borders. The first Orbital Amateur Radio Satellite (OSCAR I) is launched, Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space, Thalidomide is withdrawn from sales, the Peace Corps is founded and Ibuprofen is patented.  All through this year, our tree’s leaves are busy photosynthesizing and converting sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into glucose molecules, which serve as our tree’s source of energy to drive its growth.  It lays down its 19th annual growth ring.  At the same time, it is releasing toxic (to it) oxygen into the air around it.  Our tree’s mother-tree is struck by lightning.

1962:  John Glen in the Friendship 7 space capsule, becomes the first American to orbit the earth, Nelson Mandela is arrested in South Africa, Sean Connery debuts as 007 in Dr. No and Rachel Carson publishes, “Silent Spring”.  Black Walnut Petiole Galls appear on our tree’s leaves, but are shrugged off with a “meh” by our fast maturing tree.  The 20th growth ring is laid down and our tree’s lightning-struck mother tree dies.  In the Autumn, cold temperatures and longer nights kill off our tree’s chlorophyl.  As the green pigment associated with chlorophyl subsequently disappears, the reds and yellows of carotenoids and anthrocyanins show through.  The leaves drop to the ground below.  The Red-Belly Gracille O’Possum goes extinct.

1963:  As in previous years, our tree develops female flowers (short terminal spikes) on the current year’s shoots, followed by male flowers (catkins) on growth from the previous year (1962).  The Arecibo Observatory radio telescope begins operations in Puerto Rico, the first lung transplantation is performed, and the Ivory Billed Woodpecker is listed as endangered.

1964:  The Civil Rights Act is signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, the discovery of the remains of the Deinonychus in Montana shows that dinosaurs are closely related to birds, the US Surgeon General makes the first statement that “smoking is bad for your health”.  Our tree’s 22nd growth ring is laid down as it fights off infestations of both Fall Webworms and Walnut Caterpillars.  

1965:  A ten year old girl named Veronica chases a young boy around Hammond Hills Elementary schoolyard at recess making kissing sounds, the Brain-Eating Ameba is identified for the first time, and Insulin is synthesized by Wang Yingli and colleagues.  More galls appear on our walnut tree (this time, Black Hairy Leaflet Galls), but she is growing too fast now to be bothered.    The Mexican Grizzly Bear becomes extinct.

1966:  A light brown haired girl and her town friends toss rocks at a gang of kids from “that other neighborhood” down by the Savannah River, an unmanned Soviet spacecraft makes the first rocket assisted landing on the moon and the first live specimen of the Mountain Pygmy Possum is discovered in Australia.  A few Hickory Horned Devil caterpillars chew on its leaves, but it was an otherwise uneventful year for our tree.

1967: The Apollo 1 Fire kills three, Marburg Virus is identified in Africa, the first human to human heart transplant is performed by Dr. Christian Barnard, The Beatles release “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and our tree spends an uneventful year laying down its 25th annual growth ring.  Oh, and a fledgling bluebird makes obsequious gestures towards its parent who has abruptly stopped feeding it, instructing the youngster that it is time to make its own way in the world.

1968:  The first norovirus is identified in Norwalk, OH, Roy Jacuzzi patents the Jacuzzi Hot Tub and France is the first European country to adopt “brain death” as the legal definition/indicator of death.  The Guam Flying Fox becomes extinct

1969:  Our Black Walnut tree, now approximately 38 feet tall, remains completely oblivious to the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, which drew 400,000 to upstate NY.  The effects of climate on migratory species is highlighted by the significant decline of the Common Whitethroat due to the Sahara Drought, CCD chips are invented at Bell Labs and teenager “Robert R” dies in St.Louis, becoming the first confirmed death from Aids/HIV in the USA.  A 14 year old boy watches a 13 year old girl at the bus stop, smack a friend with her book bag and vows never to have anything to do with “some crazy girl” like that. 

1970:  Our tree is developing a well-defined canopy, consisting of scaffold branches, the canopy’s primary limbs.  Secondary branches called laterals emerge from the scaffold branches.  Our tree grows from terminal buds at the tips of branches, or lateral buds along its branches.  A now-14 year old girl watches a now-15 year old lad throw his lunch sack away in the 9th grade cafeteria and both of their lives are changed forever.  The Mongolian Mountain Wolf is now extinct.

1971:  Wrens, chickadees and bluebirds frequent our tree’s branches, searching for Luna Moth and Dagger Moth larvae.  He lays down her 29th growth ring.   Our tree’s lightning-killed mother tree finally is toppled by strong winds.  Although no human was around to witness the felling, it did make a sound.  The St. Lucia Wren becomes extinct.  

1972:   Our tree slowly begins growth in the spring, speeding up to its peak rate in late April and May, and then stops height growth in mid-July or early-August (with a normal growing period of between 115 to 135 days).  The 30th growth ring is laid down by the time it drops its leaves.  Eleven Israeli athletes are murdered at the Munich Olympic Games, the Hepatitis C virus is identified, NASA’s Space Shuttle Program begins and the Watergate scandal begins the end of Richard Nixon’s presidency.  

1973:  A young man graduates from North Augusta High School and enters the Forestry Program at Clemson University.  Roe vs Wade upholds a woman’s right to abortion in the USA.  A Marbled Orb Weaver spider weaves a web between several branches in our tree and sets to work trapping and consuming flying insects.  In early Autumn, she spins a silken sac to hold her clutch of orange eggs but, as is it already cool the eggs hatch the following Spring.

1974:  A young woman graduates from North Augusta High School and enters the Religion Program at Columbia College.   Annie Dillard publishes, “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek”…."Evolution loves death more than it loves you or me.”  Turkey Tail Mushrooms, Trametes versicolor, emerge on the log of our tree’s lightning-killed mother tree.

1975: A forestry student in Clemson, SC reads Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac” and it forever shapes his views of conservation, ecology and his opinion of humankind’s place in it. 

1976: Two college students get married in North Augusta, SC.  Later that year, their picture appears in the university yearbook with their puppy, Barney (known as The Chick Magnet by their friend Kevin).  “The Selfish Gene” is published by Richard Dawkins.  Our Black Walnut takes absolutely no notice of these events.  In fact, all three of them are oblivious to the idea that their lives will converge in about 43 years

1977:  The Commodore PET & TRS-80 computers are announced, the Apple II Home Computer goes on sale, the bacterium causing Legionnaire’s Disease is identified, the WOW Signal is received at Ohio State Radio Observatory.  Southern Flying Squirrels nest in a cavity in our Black Walnut Tree’s trunk and Jimmy Buffet releases his album, “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”

1978:  A young couple both graduate from Clemson University in December (Education & Forestry).  Egypt and Israel sign the “Camp David Accords”, Pete Rose gets his 3,000th hit, Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean and cult leader Jim Jones leads 918 to misguided deaths in Jonestown.  One of our Black Walnut tree’s offspring survives its 5th season and becomes a viable sapling.

1979:  At the culmination of an intensive program of surveillance containment and vaccination, the World Health Organization certifies the global eradication of smallpox, Skylab burns as it reenters the earth’s atmosphere and the Caspian Tiger goes extinct.  Our tree lays down its 38th annual growth ring.

1980:  A young couple moves to Athens, GA, he to enter graduate school, she to teach and forever influence young minds.  As usual, squirrels, turkeys and raccoons all feed on our trees walnuts along with, less likely, a black bear who wanders along stream beds down from the foothills.   The Mississippi Valley Wolf is now extinct.

1981:  A young Eastern Phoebe looks curiously at the webs of a cluster of Eastern Tent Caterpillars in a nearby black cherry tree, wondering just how in the heck she can get at those tasty-looking morsels…..before retreating in defeat to the branches of our walnut tree.  The Canary Island Oyster Catcher goes extinct.

1982:  Our trees bark is black, thick and deeply grooved.  The first computer virus infects Apple II computers via floppy disk, the first artificial heart recipient lives for 115 days and guitarist Randy Rhodes is killed in a freak airplane accident.  The young couple has a son in Athens, GA, putting the focus firmly on family and affecting future decisions.  The Javan Tiger becomes extinct this decade.

1983:  Bald Faced Hornets build an aerial nest on one of our tree’s branches, about 25 feet high. The first dedicated ward for HIV/AIDS patients opens in San Fransisco, CA, 3-D printing patents are filed and Spain rejoins CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research).

1984:  The first case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) appears in Britain, the first robot-related human death occurs in Michigan, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated and “Do They Know its Christmas” is recorded by Band Aid.  The young couple, now poor graduate students, have a second child, a daughter who has her bedroom in a closet (no really, it was a huge walk-in farmhouse closet with a window.....but still a closet hahaha).  Purple Finches and American Goldfinches alight in our trees branches on the way to bird feeders at a nearby house.

1985:  A young man of 22 named Some Solibo, leaves his home in Upper Volta, West Africa to enter college in the USA, seeking a provide a better life for his daughter back in Ouagadougou. He speaks 7 languages. Our tree lays down its 43rd growth ring, smaller than most due to record June droughts this year.  The California Condor Louse goes extinct.

1986:  The Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor and the Shuttle Challenger both explode, “The Phantom of the Opera” debuts in London’s West End (your humble author was fortunate enough to see a performance of Phantom there some years later), Halley’s Comet makes a fly-by earth, Mad Cow Disease rears is ugly head in earnest and the Reagan Administration sells arms to Iran.  Our tree adds its 42nd annual growth ring.  

1987:  AZT is approved by the FDA as a treatment for Aids/HIV and “Platoon” wins the Best Picture Oscar.  A deer hunter from Richmond County, VA leases some land in Central NC for bow hunting and places a tree stand in our Black Walnut Tree.  For several years, the hunter and our tree form a close working relationship. The young couple wings it to California for 2 years.  Our tree lays down its 45th growth ring.  The Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.    

1988:  An Aphid Lion (ladybug larvae) devastates a group of Giant Bark Aphids sucking sap from our Black Walnut tree, but several winged individuals escape to nearby branches.  Our tree takes no notice of the aphid murder, but does feel a bit anemic from the loss of sap.  In other news of interest to our tree, Nasa Climate Scientist James Hansen uses the term Global Warming in testimony before the US Congress.  Stephen Hawking publishes, “A Brief History of Time” and the first Fiber Optic Transatlantic Telephone cable (TAT-8) is completed.

1989:  George HW is Bush sworn in as the 41st US President, the answer to the question raised back in 1947 is answered as the Berlin Wall is breached, Billy Joel releases "We Didn't Start the Fire" and Hurricane Hugo dumps inches of rain in a few hours on our tree.  The lure of southern BBQ is too hard to resist for the young couple and they transfer to North Carolina.  Black Walnut Curculio weevils destroy many of our tree’s walnuts this season.   

1990:   Slow growth of our tree has built wood that is dense & heavy, and is developing complicated and exotic grain patterns. Her sapwood ranges between a whitish to yellowish-brown color, and his heartwood varies from a pale brown to a chocolate brown in color, with a hint of purple.  The Hubble Space Telescope is launched, but serious problems with its optical system are indicated.  The Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.

1991:  A young mother takes her first basket class in Rocky Mount, NC, drawing her ever closer to our Black Walnut tree growing less than 60 miles away.  Meanwhile, our tree is dealing with Twig Borers in its new stems & Oyster Shell Scales on its older branches, and witnesses both a lunar and a solar eclipse. Sonic the Hedgehog is released, the first web browser (WorldWideWeb) is introduced and Operation Desert Storm commences.

1992:   A Grey Fox vixen makes a meal of a distracted Fox Squirrel that had been feeding on our tree’s walnuts, mob boss John Gotti is convicted of murder, the Space Shuttle Endeavor makes its maiden flight, the Catholic Church finally apologizes for the inquisition of Galileo and the first text message is sent...“Merry Christmas”.  The Splendid Poison Frog goes extinct in Panama.

1993:  Dr. Joe Taylor receives the Nobel Prize in Physics for “the discovery of a new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation”, Intel ships the first Pentium computer chips, it is found that Peptic Ulcer Disease can be treated with antibiotics indicating that it is caused by pathogens and not stress, and  the first servicing mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope is launched resulting in a major success. The young couple and their kids get stuck in a March snowstorm in DE, and wonder what they are getting themselves into.  The 1993 Super Storm chills our tree to -8 degrees F and covers its branches with 6” of snow.

1994:  Carl Sagan publishes, “Pale Blue Dot”.…."Earth…Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives…..”, the Channel Tunnel opens between England and France and the QR code is invented in Japan.  Our tree sets its 52nd annual growth ring and reaches a height of 69 feet.

1995:  Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered by astronomers Hale and Bopp, Iron Butterfly bassist Phillip Taylor Kramer disappears on US highway 101.   “The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark”, is Published by Carl Sagan, the “Pillars of Creation” photograph is taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.  A scaffold limb of our tree, about 36’ above the ground, has been starved of sunlight for many years and so, our tree had shut down translocation to the branch to conserve resources.  Over several years the branch has dried and died and this year it is shed and falls to the ground.     

1996:  Carl Sagan Dies, Phil Collins leaves the band “Genesis”, TV channel “Animal Planet” debuts.  For several days in a row, a Barred owl roosts in our Black Walnut tree’s branches, and the Barbary Leopard goes extinct in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.  The annual cycle of Spring awakening, flowering, leafing out, photosynthesis, wood production and growth, followed by the Autumn shutdown and leave drop continues as usual.  Multiple birds, mammals, insects, microscopic organisms and humans benefit from our trees existence.  Its 44th annual growth ring is set in wood.

1997:  The first test flight of the F-22 Raptor occurs, a baby lamb is born in Scotland as the result of the first successful cloning of an adult sheep named Dolly, and the first episode of “The Simpsons” is aired.  As they have every year since our tree started making walnuts, the squirrels come and take many of them in the fall.  Some are eaten but some fall to the ground and become our trees daughters and sons.  

1998:  Apple launches the iMac, Viagra is approved by the FDA, the genome of the bacteria that causes Syphilis is sequenced, Ford buys Volvo, the Lewinsky Scandal takes over the tabloids and Ruby Throated Hummingbirds nest in a branch notch of our Black Walnut tree.  

1999:  Lebanese-American physician Huda Zochbi discovers the mutation that causes Rett syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects 1 in 8,500 females.  Iron Butterfly bassist Phillip Taylor Kramer’s remains are found, and a proof is finally published for Fermat’s Last Theorem.  Our tree produces enough oxygen to allow 10 humans to breath for an entire year, while simultaneously filtering the air around its canopy.

2000:  An intense drought lasting 155 weeks puts the hurt on our Black Walnut Tree, reducing the thickness of its next three annual rings, his 58th, 59th and 60th.  The rough draft of the Human Genome is announced, the “Year 2000 Problem” lands like a dud, but Iceberg B-15 (3,200 sq miles in size, the largest iceberg ever recorded) makes a huge splash as it calves from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

2001:  Scott Harlan Thorpe kills three people in a shooting spree in Nevada, Dale Earnhardt dies in a crash at Daytona and the September 11th attacks occur.  As with all photosynthesizing plants, our Black Walnut tree’s leaves utilize wavelengths between 400 nm and 700 nm (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) to drive photosynthesis.  It lays down its 59th growth ring, however, oblivious to the above events.

2002:  A couple in NC divert their driveway to prevent cutting down a Shagbark Hickory tree.  That Autumn, as during every Autumn, our tree’s genes fall to the ground…..as her walnuts mature, rain causes the husks to crack, allowing the nuts to drop to the ground.  Elsewhere, the Hawaiian Crow and the Mount Glorious Day Frog each go extinct.

2003:  A raccoon waddles by our tree during a late March snowfall.  Outside the forest, the last signal from NASA’s Pioneer 10 spacecraft is received (some 12.2 billion kilometers from Earth), US and Allied forces invade Iraq and an American businessman becomes the first diagnosed case of SARS in Hanoi, Vietnam.

2004:  A Carolina Wren sets off a major kerfuffle as he is ousted from his aphid buffet on the branches of our tree…..when a Yellow-Rumped Warbler brings her brood of fledglings to the feast.  Facebook is launched, SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight, the Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft reaches Saturn and (of some interest to our tree) it is published in Nature Magazine that trees have a theoretical maximum height of 130 meters (426 feet) before gravity restricts their growth.  About this time, a basket weaver in Guilford County, NC convinces her husband to begin making bases for her baskets. The budding woodworker, meanwhile, takes his 4 year old granddaughter for long walks in woods very similar to those of our Black Walnut tree, hoping to pass along his love of nature to her.   The Slender-Billed Curlew believed extinct. 

2005:  Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, Johnny Carson dies, the first video is uploaded to YouTube, 2005 is named the Year of Physics commemorating Albert Einstein’s Annas Mirabilis.  Deep Bark Canker infects one of our tree’s scaffold limbs.  The disease causes many small dark spots to extend into the wood beneath the cankered area, developing additional “character” of the wood.

2006:  The first successful transplant of a lab grown organ (bladder) into a human occurs and 1,126 people are killed by a mudslide in Southern Leyte, The Philippines.  Walnut Caterpillars make an appearance on our tree but cause little damage.

2007:  The Apple iPhone is launched and 23 year-old Seung-Hui Cho fatally shoots 32 people at Virginia Tech University.  The Cozumel Thrasher is believed extinct - last sightings were in 2006. Sixty six percent of North Carolina is affected by an intense drought in December, but our tree has already entered dormancy and is unscathed.  It did, however, witness a total lunar eclipse in March. 

2008:  NASA’s Messenger spacecraft flies by Mercury, Bitcoin is first proposed, the Summer Olympics take place in Beijing, China and Lewis Hamilton becomes the first black driver to win a Formula 1 World Championship.  Our tree’s 56th growth ring is laid down as it reaches approximately 84 feet in height.  Its branches have self pruned below about 45 feet. A patio in central NC is converted into a woodworking shop.

2009:  The Keplar Space Observatory launches in search of exoplanets, the final mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is launched, the oldest fossil of a human ancestor (Ardipithecus ramidus) is found.  A pair of Downy Woodpeckers nest in a small cavity in our tree.

2010:  A landowner walks below the branches of our Black Walnut tree, teaching his 12 year old daughter about nature, ecology & conservation and passes along to her his love of all wild things.  Elsewhere and completely unnoticed by our tree, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake hits Chile triggering a tsunami, and the first iPad is released.  Delacour’s Little Grebe is declared extinct.

2011:   US Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others are shot during a constituent meeting in Casas Adobas, AZ, 2011 is declared the Year of Forests and Chemistry, over 300 million trees are killed in Texas by drought.  Our tree feels a tremor in The Force and lays down its 69th annual ring.  The Western Black Rhinoceros goes extinct. 

2012:  Pakistan wins the 2012 Asia Cup cricket tournament, Vlad Putin is elected President of Russia and the UK hosts the Summer Olympics.  Lonesome George, the last full blooded Pinta Island Tortoise, dies at Galapagos National Park, and the species becomes extinct.  Wood that forms the 72nd growth ring of our Black Walnut tree is produced.  As with other hardwood trees, the outer 10-12 growth rings are light-colored Sapwood, which translocates water and nutrients between the roots and canopy, and the inner rings are converted to darker-colored Heartwood, which forms the structure of the tree.

2013:  Beijing’s air is reported to be “hazardous to human health”, Britain’s Chief Medical Officer warns that antibiotic resistance could have 'apocalyptic' consequences.  In central NC, our tree continues to require ~ 50 inches of rainfall each year for maximum growth.  She moves 10-150 gallons of water each day, depending on the season.  Over 90% of the water is lifted to the canopy and transpires into the surrounding air....less than 5% remains in the tree for growth.  A Grey Squirrel retires to the branches of a nearby Yellow Poplar tree, feeling crapulous after eating far too many walnut seeds beneath our tree.  

2014:  In 2013, I just wanted to use the word 'crapulous'.  A new gene therapy technique restores site to 6 previously blind humans, giving hope to many others depending on the promise of gene therapy and water vapor is detected on the dwarf planet Ceres by ESA scientists.  If our tree were human, we would say that it is becoming a weary elderly citizen…..and in many ways that is exactly correct.  It’s height-growth has slowed since its vigorous youth, but is still adds its 72nd annual growth ring.

2015:  The landowner where our Black Walnut Tree has spent its life making wood, contracts with a local small-business-lumber-company in Winston Salem, NC to make a proposal for harvesting the hardwoods on his land.  He needs the money to help pay for his daughter’s college tuition.  The final mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope is launched.

2016: The Lumber company fells our tree.  She falls to the ground (tearing limbs from nearby poplars and snapping a sourwood tree’s trunk) and is cut into logs for transportation to the sawmill.  The sawyer rough-cuts our tree’s logs into  slabs that are subsequently cut into 8-10 foot lengths.  They are fed into a kiln to be dried before sale.  In news totally unnoticed by our tree, the most remote galaxy ever detected (GN-z11) is confirmed by the Hubble Space Telescope (3.4 billion light years away from Earth).  Finally, reverberations of the conflict way back in 1942-1945 are still felt today.  Partisan politics reaches a new low….causing extreme divisiveness in the USA and around the globe.

2017:   Our tree’s boards are stacked and stored on several pallets, one of which is delivered to The Hardwood Store of North Carolina in Gibsonville, NC, and placed by forklift in the warehouse.  Nobel laureate Dr. Joe Taylor releases FT-8, a Frequency Shift Keying digital mode for amateur radio.

2018:  Researchers develop a DNA blood test that can provide early detection of 8 types of cancer tumors, China publishes more scientific papers than the USA, the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting occurs in Parkland, FL….17 dead & an additional 17 injured begging the question, prompting the question (again) “When will this madness end?”  Our board rests on the bottom layer of a pallet of Black Walnut boards in the back-warehouse of the hardwood store.  It is tempting to anthropomorphize our board (giving it human feelings) and to say that it is bored from laying there at the bottom of the stack, being noticed, but alas, it just waits patiently…….

2019:  A woodworker from Summerfield, NC pours over the remaining boards from the pallet of walnut lumber from our tree.  Most of the remaining boards are curled, the wrong size or very plain.  But way down on the bottom of the pile, he finds 2 boards (one about 8 feet long and 7” wide, the other only 6 feet by 8”, but with a few interesting knots) with a deep purplish-chocolate-brown color and interesting grain that catches his eye.  They go home in the back of his Toyota Tacoma pickup. Outside the imaginings of our tree, methane is detected on the planet Mars by the Curiosity Rover, SARS-CoV-2 virus is first identified from an outbreak in Wuhan, China, IPBES reports that extinction of the natural living world is accelerating due to human activity and the first computer chip to hold a trillion transistors is announced in Taiwan. The Oahu Tree Snail goes extinct.

2020:  The global Covid-19 pandemic builds up momentum, affecting global economic markets, global travel, trade and personal lives alike.  Our board, the 6’ x 8” one, has been stacked against the wall in the woodworker’s workshop.  Over the ensuing months, several other boards were leaned against the wall, hiding our walnut tree’s shorter board.

2021:  A Malaria vaccine with 77% efficacy is reported, supporters of Donald Trump attack the US Capital in January, Joe Biden is inaugurated 46th President of the USA and the earth now emits more greenhouse gases than it absorbs,  The woodworker and his wife, a Nantucket basket maker and teacher, decide to build a new workshop. Bachman’s Warbler is declared extinct by US F&WS. 

2022:  There are now five grandchildren for the woodworker to teach about nature (understanding the natural world and their symbiotic place in it).  The desire for a sustainable and thriving ecology for his children's children is more important than ever.  Our Walnut Board is moved to the new shop, cleaned and labeled and placed in the new wood-storage racks.  Roe vs Wade is rescinded by the US Supreme Court, 6.62 million deaths have been caused to date by SARS-Cov-2, Russia invades Ukraine, Ukraine bans all Amateur Radio transmissions.

Today:  The woodworker reaches up into his new wood storage rack and pulls out a walnut board.  He looks at it closely, turning it this way and that in the sunlight coming in through the window, evaluating the grain and color, and thinks, “this will make a nice 14 inch New Tray Basket”

…..and here I am holding the board in my hands.  I square the edges on the Grizzly 8" Jointer to prepare for glue-up, run it through the Dewalt Thickness Planer to achieve a smooth level face, then use the Bosch 12" Sliding Compound Miter Saw to cut off an 12” square section.  I use a 11.5" circle template to mark out the circumference of the circle, and cut out the circle with the Grizzly 14” Band Saw.  While listening to Dire Straits, “Industrial Disease”, I mount the wood disk, shape it and groove it on the Laguna 12" Lathe….then walk over to the studio and hand it to Joni-Dee.  Next month, a basket weaver from Winston-Salem, NC will use the base to create a new family heirloom.  

Note - It should be obvious to anyone who has read the works of Aldo Leopold, that his writings have been a huge influence on my thinking about ecology and conservation, and on this blog in particular.  I encourage anyone likewise inclined to read his works, starting with “A Sand County Almanac”.  The tree in this story indeed did absolutely exist, as evidenced by the board in my shop, although, the specific events and location in the life of our tree did not occur exactly as described.  However, each event, growth pattern, bird, insect, mammal, etc could have actually impacted our Black Walnut tree as described.  I made extensive use of Wikipedia pages such as “Year in Science”, “Year in History”, etc along with other internet news reports and scientific papers in writing this blog.  I did my best not to use any direct quotes or plagiarism.  Some data I dredged out of my own brain.  Any factual errors are solely my own.  All photographs are my own, other than the opening Black Walnut tree photo and the logging photograph, which were take from the internet and which I believe are in the public domain (if you own the copyright on either of these  photos, please contact me through our internet contact page).  Dave Ross 11/2022