Marshall I'd have to guess that more than likely they are Q. ellipsoidalis.

Dax

Could be, but Hill's Oak has little tolerance for wet soil and I'd be surprised if that's it.

Central Sands Pine-Oak Forest

I-90 basically runs through what was Wisconsin's oak savanna. As I recall (and +om will know) Bur oak and White oak were the prime oaks there. Since "re-oaking" these savannas has been going on for a bit, there are planted areas scattered throughout that I-90 route that look natural as well as the natural reproduction.

tj

I seem to recall someone telling me there was a lot of fire in the drought of 1988 and those are probably the resprouts. Maybe someone who lived there then can confirm?

FYI, Tom mentioned on another forum that he would be out of town and away from GW for a few weeks after the first of the year. Just saying if you are concerned about his lack of response :-))

Thanks gardengal - Sorry about misspelling +om's name. Hope he doesn't hold it against me.

Well - I'm back. sorry about the absence. I love driving I-90 from where it crosses the Wisconsin River up to Eau Claire with all the varied landscape and terrain. The area of oaks I was referring to is that primarily north and south of Volk Field/Camp Douglas but probably extends further than that. Also this time up the road, my wife commented about seeing so many large hawks. So I pay attention to the tree tops and those hawks were in fact immature eagles. And we saw lots of them, even a few adults. Don't recall seeing those on previous trips. We also saw a lot in Iowa on our return trip home - mostly adults there.

Thanks all for the comments

Love the mild winter we've had in this part of Ohio. I've had no more than 6 inches of snow so far and a lot of really mild days.

Marshall

Here in west MD, Dec was VERY mild, but Jan was 2.8F below avg & Feb 0.3F above. So pretty much avg temps for Jan/Feb. About 27" snow here for the winter so far -- about average.

Thanks mrgpag for travelling and enjoying our state. And since I simply cannot not comment on what is happening here, I will once again note that the area traveled is the same area being dug up and hauled away in rail cars-yes fracking sand! Yes, western Wisconsin is literally being torn up so we can extract more polluting petroleum from other states, and in the process, this very state is being destroyed. Enjoy it while you can....our dear, dear governor and his oh so compliant legislature and even supreme court-yes we have a fully partisan supreme court in Wisconsin!-are busy sabotaging environmental protections at every turn. What you see-so full of beauty and wildlife-means nothing to these folks. And through lots of dumb voting by people that should not vote if they don't understand who is who and what is what....these guys and gals with a big letter R after their names have all the cards. Coming to a state near you soon!

I'm not sure the above comment was provided by +om - and If Not - how was that possible??

Marshall

No Marshall, that was all me! What am I missing here? Monday mornings and all.....did I miss something? I'm talking about the juxtaposition between your enjoyment of that part of this state....and what is happening to it in the name of a few bucks for big industrial fat cats that are bankrolling a lot of the politicians currently in office here in this state, that's all. There is a direct connection to that big wooded bluff being torn down and hauled away in rail cars to Texas or some place....and the politics currently in power here. Our very state is being sold out from under us by a certain administration headed up by a fool who thought of himself as presidential material a while back. He is not more of a fool however than the rest of these clowns that think they should be the big R nomination for president. But what I'm talking about is how natural resources in Wisconsin.....and in other states run by governors and legislatures with that big letter R after their names...are squandering the resources of this and those other states for a few bucks, future be damned.

ps......I'll probably end up getting kicked off of Houzz before it's all over with. In truth, this place has kind of run its course for me anyway, but more importantly, I've got but the one life to live. I won't do so hiding under a rock, afraid of the sound of my own voice. We've got huge problems here in Wisconsin-politically speaking....and there's a very specific reason why that is.

breathe, Tom, breathe ;)

We'd sure hate to lose you on this forum.

I know bud, I know! And in fact, I did just now take in a big throatful of air. It's helping!