Holes

Today comes something I very rarely do. I'm going to take a look at some nature of the smaller variety. There is a tree I walk past very often on my hikes. I'm usually looking for animals or large scenery while I go by, so I don't usually pay much attention to this tree. But today I decided to experiment with my camera's macro setting.

I decided to focus my attention on an area of the tree where the bark had been stripped away quite some time ago. When I looked up close I found something a beginner to the small parts of nature would find very odd. What I found were these almost perfectly round holes in the side of the tree. These holes would be the target of my study.

I can't say I have much of a conclusion to this study, only an interesting look at a natural mystery for anyone who sees it for the first time. What made these holes? Is it the holes that caused the bark to come off this section of the tree? Maybe one of you know the answers. Even if you don't, it's still fun to wonder.

If you look closely at the picture above, you can see that these holes are very small. They're about the size a small nail might make in the wood. They seem to be placed at random, so there is obviously no human intelligence involved here. I still wonder what made these holes.

Woodpeckers make holes, but I think their holes are much bigger than these. But why do they make holes? There are three reasons. They're digging for food. They're making noise to attract mates. They're digging a hole to live in as a nest. These little holes don't really seem to match what a woodpecker would do, but I had to start somewhere.

The only other thing I can think of that might make these holes are parasitic insects. Some of them are certainly small enough to do this. And there are plenty of insects that bore holes through wood, and for many different reasons. After this information though, I really don't know much more. Like I said above, I'm new to studying nature this small. I guess I have some further studying to do.

This is what I see every day as I walk past. The tree is right at the side of this trail. I see that spot on the tree every time, and I mildly think about it every time, but then quickly forget it when I hear a squirrel or something chirping at me. This time I stopped and took a closer look.

Even though I didn't learn the cause of the spot on the tree, or the holes in the spot, I feel like this little bit gave me much more knowledge than I had before, and a very good start on even more. All it takes is the idea to stop and look at a thing to begin to learn about it. This is also a small step to learning to be an expert on nature as a whole.

Maybe I'll never achieve expert status, but I'm just a little bit further today than I was yesterday. I'm glad I stopped to look at this tree and its holes. If you know the secret of the holes, tell me about it. Then I can take another step, and so will the rest of you who really want to learn.