Remember, in the spring, I encouraged my fellow Indiana bloggers to Watch out for Weirdos!
Drum roll, please.
I am delighted to announce that the Clay County tree I submitted to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Weird Tree Search was chosen to appear in the DNR’s online publication, “Invasion of the Weird Trees 2012.”
In an email last week Sam Carman, Education Director and Aficionado of Weird Trees, IDNR-Division of Forestry, Indianapolis wrote:
Just a quick note to let you know that it’s now official. If anyone has ever accused you of having an eye for the weird … well, they were right! A tree that you submitted for our Weird Tree Search was selected as the weirdest in its county by our panel of experts. Indiana’s District Foresters served as the judges, and believe me, these guys and gals know “weird” when they see it.
Congratulations on having your tree selected. While having your photo selected doesn’t come with any prizes, awards, or ticker tape parades (unless your community wants to organize one for you), it does mean that your photo appears in our on-line publication, “Invasion of the Weird Trees 2012.”
To view this publication and see my Clay County tree (Page 6) along with all of the other freaks of nature, here is the direct web link:
www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/fo-InvasionWeirdTrees.pdf
It is a very large file, so it may take a minute or two to download.
Enjoy viewing the “Invasion,” Carman wrote. “This publication is updated every 4 years, so the next update will be in 2016, although submissions are accepted anytime. So get out there in the woods, have your camera handy, and keep watching for the weird!”
Sheila T Illustrated© 
Gee, all that time in Monroe and Brown counties and I never thought to look for WEIRD trees. As you know, those two counties have a lot of trees. Maybe half of Indiana’s?
All the same, congratulations. And enjoy the foliage.
Thank you, Jnana. I LOVE the trees in Brown County. You know, I really wasn’t hiking through the woods for this one. I caught a glimpse of its weird features out of the corner of my eye while driving home from work via U.S. 40 in Brazil. No one lives in the house so I snapped a quick photo.
I really enjoyed that. Those entries were really, well, weird.
I am glad you found it entertaining, Karen. Thanks for the visit.
Very cool that you spotted the weirdest tree in your county. Now I’m trying to think which is the weirdest one around here…
Thanks, Deb. Yes, I know you see A LOT of trees and it might be hard for you to pick just one. Hope you share when you find some in your neck of the woods. 🙂