As you can see in the photograph above, the trees around this part of the Ozarks are just beginning to undergo the color transformation that makes this such a pleasant time of year to be outdoors enjoying the scenery.

The pin oaks, such as this one, are among the first trees to exhibit a reddening of their leaves.  As such, they stand out in stark contrast to the surrounding greenery.

The pin oak leaves change from dark green to red, after which they will turn rusty brown before leaping off the tree, in a final act of suicidal defiance in the face of the seasonal changes that are taking place.

This specimen of sugar maple begins it’s color change from the top down, and will undergo several variations of shading prior to the leaves falling from the tree.

I haven’t identified this tree yet (hint, hint), but the outer layer of leaves regularly turn a brilliant purplish shade as the fall change progresses.

There is an excellent website that publishes the Ozark Mountains Fall Foliage Report, where you can learn all about the causes of the color change, as well as obtain up-to-date color reports and forecasts, and get directions for scenic local fall drives throughout the Ozarks region.

I will be posting the changes that occur at this location periodically over the next couple of weeks.  So far the weather has been favorable for a spectacular fall show.  If the cool, sunny days continue, along with cold (but not freezing) nights, we should be in for a real treat this year.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Well, maybe not gold, but possibly there might be silver.  And why do I think that there might be silver in the hillock that we so pretentiously call “our mountain?”  Because I know for certain that there has been lead ore extracted from this area in the past, and I just learned recently on the Discovery Channel that silver strikes may occur in proximity to lead ore veins.

Here is a brief history of lead mining in the general area.  The most prominent and successful mining operation in the area was under the auspices of the New York Zinc and Lead Company, which operated the Bear Hill Mining Property at George’s Creek in Bear Hill Hollow in the late 1800’s, however the mining of lead was first noted to occur in 1818.  During the civil war, there were three lead ore smelters operating in a nearby township (which is now at the bottom of Bull Shoals Lake).  The lead ore from this area was used primarily for bullets, which the area supplied to both the Union and Confederate armies throughout the Civil War.  My neighbor’s ancestors conducted a very successful business at the time of the Civil War, called the Markle Cannon Foundry.  They utilized the “Gillette Razor” methodology of doing business (sell the razor cheap, and profit from over-priced blade refills).  This company donated cannons to both combatant armies during the civil war, and then profited handsomely by provisioning the armies with expensive cannon balls, which were produced, in part, with lead mined locally.

Lead mining occurred on and off during the ensuing years, but became active with the onset of WWI, and later, WWII.  The last known commercial lead mining in the area ceased operations in 1959.

In reviewing the Abstract of Title which we obtained as a result of our purchase of the property, we have found five instances of mining leases that were granted to mining concerns by the various owners of this land, spanning the period from the early-1800’s to the mid-1960’s.  I have not been able to determine how much ore was extracted from this site, nor how long the mining was active, but I do know it occurred on this property.

This is a topographic view of a part of “our mountain.”  You may recall the panoramic view from the mountain top, which is seen in the upper right part of the map above.  In the upper left side of the map, notice the red line I have drawn.  This line represents a ravine that cuts it’s way down one part of the slope, where lead ore has been extracted in the past.  Today’s post will show what the upper portion of this ravine (and past mining locale) looks like.  At the lower part of the red line, you can see the crossed pick-ax symbol that the USGS used to indicate the presence of a mining operation at the time the area was mapped.  We will explore the lower portion of the ravine in a future post, when more leaves have fallen and the area becomes more conducive to photography.

This picture was taken at about the midway point of the mining area, looking up the ravine.  Notice the rock outcroppings on the right.  This is the result of the ore extraction process that occurred here.

This photograph shows a dry pond site at the top of the ravine, denoted on the topographic map as a red O.  It was my initial belief, upon first seeing the dry pond, that it was an unsuccessful stock tank for cattle that at one time grazed a large, crescent-shaped pasture midway up the mountain.  I have now come to believe that it was constructed to be a revetment, or containment pond, to prevent a deluge of water from cascading down the ravine during the thunderstorms that sometimes manage to avoid bypassing our property.

The erosion that has occurred in the exposed rock outcroppings has created small caverns at the base of the rocks.  Although there was nothing in this hole at the time of this photograph, I am sure that it has been a shelter for some critters from time to time.

This is another rocky ledge in the upper ravine area that has been created by the mining activities of the past.  One day, I would like to accompany someone trained in geology through this area, so that I can learn to understand what I am seeing in these outcroppings more fully.

This oak (?) tree appears to be growing directly out of the rock.  I find it interesting to see how it grows horizontally, and then makes an abrupt 90 degree turn, again reaching for the sky.

So now you have seen the upper part of the ravine where lead ore extraction has occurred on this property.  This might be the exact spot where I soon discover the “Mother Lode” silver ore vein on our land.  If I do, I’ll keep you all posted.  And then again, maybe not.  But that’s how legends are born.

This is a tree with various names.  Some refer to it as the bois d’arc (pronounced “bodark”), which is french for “bow wood.”  It is also referred to as an Osage orange tree, hedge apple tree, and horse apple tree.  All of these monikers have a basis in the properties of the tree, as we shall see in the following paragraphs.  Some people dislike these trees, while others adore them, depending upon their perspectives.

The picture above is a trunk of a bois d’arc tree.  The wood of this tree is extremely hard and tough, which makes it a sought after tree for cutting into fence posts.  But if you intend to cut one of these trees, you had better arm yourself with plenty of sharp chains on your chainsaw, as the tough, yellowish wood of the bois d’arc will dull the chain rapidly.  It is also advisable to wear long sleeves made of thick fabric, as the spines on the branches can cause painful lacerations if you are not careful.

The canopy of the bois d’arc forms a tangled mass of branches, which are armed with stout, flesh-piercing barbs.  Because of the dense mass of resilient, barbed and tough wood that the tree produces, it was planted with tight spacing as a hedge row in times prior to the invention of barbed wire.  It is referred to as being “horse high, bull strong, and hog tight,” an ideal specification for a farmstead hedge row.  Because of the toughness and decay resistance of the wood, combined with the long, straight, resilient branches that this tree produces, it was prized as a source of wood in which to construct bows in the past, hence it’s name bois d’arc tree, or bow wood tree.

This is the fruit produced by the bois d’arc.  Some call this the Osage orange, possibly because the skin emits a citrus-like scent when it begins to rot.  Because the trees were often grown as a hedge, the fruit has been called a “hedge apple” by some.  Because the fruit is consumed by horses, it is termed a “horse apple” by others.  Osage orange, hedge apple, or horse apple, it remains that humans do not consume this fruit.  But, as just mentioned, horses eat the fruit of the bois d’arc tree, as well as squirrels and cattle.

If you slice the fruit in half, which requires a stout knife, as the fruit is quit hard until it begins to rot, you will find that after a minute or two the fruit begins to “weep”, as you can see in the photograph above.  Only the female tree produces the fruit, which propagates the tree through the germination of the approximately 200 seeds contained within the fruit.  In the fall, the fruit begins to drop from the limbs of the tree, and when they do, watch out, as it hurts to be struck by the falling, heavy, hard fruit of the Osage orange, or bois d’arc tree.