In the Allegan Forest. There are a couple of places along 125th Avenue, north of the river, where folks come to shoot stuff. Most famously would be the bluff overlooking the river, where there is sizable pile of ash from numerous bonfires, and the ground is covered with the brass butts of shotgun shells. But a short distance north of there is a stand of planted white pines, all standing together regular, like a bunch of soldiers in formation.

Frying Pan

One unfortunate tree in this bunch was singled out to be the backdrop for target practice. A few years ago I noticed a large hook – like what you would use to hang planters in the garden – screwed into the side of this tree. Judging from the litter around the trunk, more than a few TV’s, LP’s, milk jugs, and other unwanted household items had met their demise here - hung on the hook to be a target. Or to be more positive about it – these items gave their owners a few more moments of pleasure at the end of their existence.

Anyhow, last spring I found the tree snapped in two, just a few feet below that hanging hook. It got so shot up that it just broke when the wind rose. It’s fascinating to look at close up – wood, peppered with lots of brass and lead. I figured that was that, and folks would move onto another tree. As expected, the debris under the tree stopped accumulating.

Passing by there this week, I noticed that someone had found the frying pan that was in the debris pile, and stuck it onto the broken tree truck to get in a little bit more of target practice. I was shooting one of my last rolls of Kodak HIE infrared film, and took a few snaps of the stand of trees. Here’s the best of the bunch.