Riding Around the Area

Rode to Utica on Tuesday and upon rounding the corner off Reynolds Road, discovered the BP/Duke & Dutchess gas station is gone, to be replaced by a new and upgraded BP/Duke & Dutchess gas station.  In the meantime, the gas station across the street is a good alternative. 

Last week, a tree that has been standing for 350-400 years, on Granview Avenue that many of you have passed as you head towards or depart from Granville, was cut down.  It has stood alongside Granview well before it was a stagecoach route from Chillicothe to Granville.  A trenching of the ground to lay a cable in 1985 planted the seeds of its long decline. Some estimate it is the largest red oak in Licking County.

I wanted to catch the falling of it on video and turned on the charm with the guys, even getting an offer to give me wood for free but when it came time to make a cut half way up, they asked that I leave because, in there words, "There's no telling where that sh*t will fly when it hits the ground."

Of course, I came back to see what the inside looked like but other than at the base, the tree was still solid and as of today, they are still cutting and splitting what remains.  Across the street, surrounded by smaller trees and somewhat hidden, is another red oak that appears to be in good shape and about of the same age.