A Day In Donaldson's Woods

[Mark Wyatt]

Donaldson's Woods is a dedicated area inside Indiana's Spring Mill State Park. It is described by the Indiana Parks Department as:

"This undisturbed old-growth woods is recognized by botanists as one of the most impressive stands of the original forest remaining in Indiana. The woods is classified as a western mesophytic forest type because it is intermediate between beech-maple and oak-hickory types. However, studies indicate that beech and maple are assuming greater importance. An unusual feature of the woods is the high percentage of white oaks."
For this forum, the pertinent part of the expedition through this forest is consideration of tree selection for the neander woodworker.

At first, you notice one random tall, wide, straight, straight-grained hardwood tree. Being a woodworker, and not a naturalist, your inclination is to chop the tree down and turn it into boards. Not very PC, but there you have it. As you wander around, you realize this tree is actually common for the area.

The trees travel up 50, 75, 100 feet or more from a 4-foot, 5-foot, or perhaps wider base before they branch for the first time. You can imagine entire houses being built from two or three such trees. The wood in these trees must be magnificent. Free of defect, without the slightest trace of knot, easy to work with hand tools.

It is hard to capture in photo:

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Occasionally, one meets a tree with a little more character. Here is my fellow hiker and son in front of one:

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This tree, now deceased, is a collection of fantastic burls:
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How did the native woodworker cope with such alarming excess of natural materials? There is an original Pioneer Village in the park which offers a tantalizing clue in the form of a shared building:

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Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!

[Mark Godlesky]

Isn't it nice that some of our predecessors had the foresight to preserve areas like this. In our instant gratification world it's good to be reminded that some things, like those trees, have lifetimes that dwarf our own.

And I'll add another Happy Father's Day to all!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mark....I spent many happy days in Spring Mill State Park as a child. I visit my Mother's family nearby in Heltonville periodically and swing by the park when in the area. It's a neat place with a lot of history.

[Michael Ray Smith]

Thanks for the post, Mark. I've never been to Spring Mill, and I need to correct that this summer.

On the Father's Day theme, the "deceased" tree reminds me of the running joke between my son and me, back before he became a teenager and decided it was stupid. Dad: Do you know what kind of tree that is? Son: A dead tree.

And thanks to my dad for planting the seeds of an interest in woodworking. They lay dormant a long time, but they finally sprouted. I just wish I had paid more attention and learned much more from him than I did.

Happy Father's Day!

[Jim Stewart]

I love that woods. I was just thinking that I need to visit there. I grew up close the there. We would often picnic there as a family. I bought many balsa wood airplanes from Hammers variety store as a kid. They were one of the pioneer families of Spring Mill. ...Time to plan a trip! PS I am now trying to propagate the White Oaks I remember as a kid in an old cattle pasture. It is filled with challenges.
Back to SM; the Beeches and Maple do well in shade, so they tend to replace at some point. Funny all I remember from down there are Oak and Hickory forests in Jackson County. Thanks for the reminder and Happy Fathers Day to all.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Touring the caves there was also fun. I took my family on one guided cave tour by boat.