WHISPERING HILLS: BONSAI FOREST

I feel like a miniature person entering a bonsai forest when I walk under the dome of these trees.

Each trunk, limb and branch arches out in its chosen direction, creating multi-layers of arches from the crown down to the ones touching the ground. The trees grow on the edge of a six-foot bank.

The largest trunk is over two feet in diameter. Deep fissures separate its orange-brown bark into shaggy strips.

A chilling breeze climbs the hill. I wish I had put on an additional layer of clothes. Apparently the weather didn't hear last night's forecast for a sunny day and provides a solid blanket of clouds instead.

A winter wren flies from a brush pile to a low branch and "churps" in a scolding fashion. Birds twitter in a neighboring pine, and a black vulture circles overhead.

I came to identify these trees growing beside Trigg tower Observation Site north of Simpson. Luckily a few yellow leaves still persist. They have a simple shape, smooth edges and a long pointed tip. Ones up to six inches long lie on the ground.

A quarter-inch spine grows beside each leaf scar. A milky sap oozes when I break off a twig.

I climb down the bank below the trees. The largest group is either one tree with six trunks, or six trees crowded together. Pumpkin-orange roots intertwine where they disappear into the hill.

I first look up osage orange in my "Forest Trees of Illinois" book, because my future son-in-law found the fruit of one near the tower a month ago.

The greenish fruit was firm, larger than a softball and contained many seeds. I find no fruits this morning.

These are osage orange trees (Maclura pomifera). The trees are native only in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. They have become naturalized through much of the agricultural areas where they were commonly planted as a wind break and as fence rows. Their flexible durable wood is used to make archery bows, fence posts, railroad ties and tool handles.

I wander among the branches for two hours as I draw, wishing I could climb into the complex maze of arches.

Kathy Phelps is a freelance nature writer and illustrator who resides in Harrisburg, Ill.