# Strange Thing Seen While Grouse Hunting Yesterday



## Mtn. Hunter (Feb 7, 2007)

Does anybody know what this and what did this? I think I know; but I want to get some input to this. I found this on top of a mountain, while I was grouse hunting yesterday. I was hunting on some private land bordered on top, by National Forest Land. I was close to Springer Mtn. and I guess the elevation to be around 3000 ft. The marks on this tree go up to about 9 ft. There are chips on the ground about 1 1/2" wide as you can see by the picture.


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## GAbuckhunter88 (Feb 7, 2007)

WOW I have no clue what that is but i am interested in finding out.


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## jinx0760 (Feb 7, 2007)

*I'll try...*

It's a bear, maybe!


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## GA1dad (Feb 7, 2007)

Don't know what made those marks, but not a bear. While a bear will claw a tree, their claws are not made to produce chips like what is shown. Bear claws would leave shreds, not chips. Had there been any logging equip in the area? Looks like possible from the downed stuff in the background.


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## Adirondacker (Feb 7, 2007)

Porcupine? Piliated Woodpecker with bad aim?


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## onemilmhz (Feb 7, 2007)

I'm no expert but it looks to be man made, or at least, produced by a man made object/tool.  The gouge pattern looks faily semetrical and the shavings are nice and uniform in shape.  Maybe someone needed a piece of rough cut timber/bark for a project of some sort? But up nine feet???


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## doenightmare (Feb 7, 2007)

Classic bigfoot territory marker - seen it a hundred times.


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## Sling (Feb 7, 2007)

Black Panther maybe?


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## the HEED! (Feb 7, 2007)

well what the heck is it already! I say man made trail marker with a climber and machete, the height is so it can be spotted from a distance


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## Meriwether Mike (Feb 7, 2007)

Ice freezing and expanding within the bark due to extremely low temps.


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## Jasper (Feb 7, 2007)

doenightmare said:


> Classic bigfoot territory marker - seen it a hundred times.



That has got to be the silliest thing I've ever heard. Bigfoot!  

Study the markings closely and it's obvious this was made by a Florida skunk ape that has migrated northward.


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## doenightmare (Feb 7, 2007)

Jasper said:


> That has got to be the silliest thing I've ever heard. Bigfoot!
> 
> Study the markings closely and it's obvious this was made by a Florida skunk ape that has migrated northward.


 
You may be right. Ain't the skunkape just a Florida bigfoot?


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## perchjerker (Feb 7, 2007)

*Not many chips for that much hacking.*

Any sign of the rest of it ? What kind of tree was it ?


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## Jasper (Feb 7, 2007)

doenightmare said:


> Ain't the skunkape just a Florida bigfoot?



Very similar. Skunkape has slightly smaller feet.........and smells much worse. Hence the name.


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## the HEED! (Feb 7, 2007)

could it be an exploded tree from the cold?


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## Mac (Feb 7, 2007)

Sounds like the man knews what he is talking about.




balvarik said:


> PORKYPINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> The loggers up here(foresters too)see that from the road and take to hunting down and killing the varmint up here!
> Thing is we have no possum's but what we lack in them we have a surplus of porky's!!
> ...


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## 300 Mag (Feb 7, 2007)

Classic example of the elusive giant North American beaver which stands at 6-7 feet tall on their hind legs.  Their markings on tree's are very similar to their smaller cousins, the fresh water beaver that we are all accustomed to, however, in contrast to the smaller beaver, when they gnaw a tree, they actually eat the chips are a form of fiber supplement in their diet.  We studied about these in advanced environmental science.


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## DCHunter (Feb 7, 2007)

I'm going with Balvarik


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## 300 Mag (Feb 7, 2007)

Hopefully he will have a use for it, wouldn't want to kill something without a use.


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## Adirondacker (Feb 7, 2007)

In the Adirondack Mts. there is a tradition among woodsmen never to kill porcupines. Reason being, if some poor unfortunate soul ever got hurt and stranded deep in the hinter lands the porkys make for an easy catch and a meal. They do however do great damage to trees  and nosy dogs. We had a hunting cabin back in that had one or two layers of the plywood siding eaten away by one of these critters.  In our area trees that were savaged usually showed damage a foot or two from the top. I was told that this is where the cambium layer is most succulent. 

By the way anyone ever hear them when they mate? By all accounts it is a prickly matter. First time I heard it I was sleeping with a window open and the terrible racket woke me up. I swore my neighbor was strangling his wife to death. 

Marty Stauffer (Wild America) did and interested TV show on them once and documented this mating behavior.


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## Minner (Feb 7, 2007)

I didn't know there were any porcupines in north GA. I've sure never seen one but that doesn't mean they aren't here I guess.


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## Trizey (Feb 7, 2007)

Minner said:


> I didn't know there were any porcupines in north GA. I've sure never seen one but that doesn't mean they aren't here I guess.



I've yet to see one either.  I've also never seen a armadillo up here, but I've seen the on the road dead nearby.


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## Mtn. Hunter (Feb 7, 2007)

*Strange Thing Seen*

Boy ya"ll are really having a good time with this one! Seriously; this tree is way up on a mountain at least 1 1/2 miles from the nearest access. No logging has or is going on here. The trees in the background have been uprooted by the wind. There are no trails in this area.
 A friend of mine who grew up in the No. Ga. mtns. and has hunted  and trapped all of his life, says that it is a bear marking tree. He said that the bear has done this with his mouth. Most of what we see are claw marking trees. He told me that it is unreal the strength a mature black bear has. He told me that his brother left a climbing stand on a tree, and a bear  wrecked it.

                                                             Mtn. Hunter


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## GA1dad (Feb 7, 2007)

Mtn. Hunter said:


> Boy ya"ll are really having a good time with this one! Seriously; this tree is way up on a mountain at least 1 1/2 miles from the nearest access. No logging has or is going on here. The trees in the background have been uprooted by the wind. There are no trails in this area.
> A friend of mine who grew up in the No. Ga. mtns. and has hunted  and trapped all of his life, says that it is a bear marking tree. He said that the bear has done this with his mouth. Most of what we see are claw marking trees. He told me that it is unreal the strength a mature black bear has. His told me that his brother left a climbing stand on a tree, and a bear  wrecked it.
> 
> Mtn. Hunter



Respectfully,,,,,I disagree. For now, I'm buying the porcupine theory.


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## Mtn. Hunter (Feb 7, 2007)

GA1dad,
  The porcupine theory seems to make more sense. I didn't think we had porcupines in the mountains of N. Ga. I guess anything is possible.

                                               Mtn. Hunter


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## chambers270 (Feb 7, 2007)

I dont know what it is, but I did not know we had Porcupines or Fishers in Georgia? I did find this when I googled porcupines. I bet they did make some noise!


Porcupines mate in late summer and early fall. Porcupines are very vocal during mating season. Males often fight over females. The male performs an elaborate dance and sprays urine over the head of the female.


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## Adirondacker (Feb 7, 2007)

Mtn. Hunter said:


> Boy ya"ll are really having a good time with this one! Seriously; this tree is way up on a mountain at least 1 1/2 miles from the nearest access. No logging has or is going on here. The trees in the background have been uprooted by the wind. There are no trails in this area.
> A friend of mine who grew up in the No. Ga. mtns. and has hunted  and trapped all of his life, says that it is a bear marking tree. He said that the bear has done this with his mouth. Most of what we see are claw marking trees. He told me that it is unreal the strength a mature black bear has. He told me that his brother left a climbing stand on a tree, and a bear  wrecked it.
> 
> Mtn. Hunter



I have seen bear chewed trees and to me this doesn't look like one (the pattern is too regular more like the work of a rodent). Bear usually rub their body on the tree too and you find strands or chunks of hair, but I could be wrong. When I first read the post I thought you were from Colorado (CO). I have never seen a porcupine since moving to GA. Are they found in the GA mts.? 

I have seen wood peckers make a mess of a tree and produce a pile of chips but they usually dig deeper into the tree. May be the insects they were after were just below the bark instead of in the heart of the tree.

How was the grouse hunting?


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## 300 Mag (Feb 7, 2007)

My wife would never stand for that type of mating dance.


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## the HEED! (Feb 7, 2007)

yea i saw that on wildboys, the male pees on the females head, man he's smooth


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## Adirondacker (Feb 7, 2007)

chambers270 said:


> ... I bet they did make some noise!
> 
> Porcupines mate in late summer and early fall. Porcupines are very vocal during mating season. Males often fight over females. The male performs an elaborate dance and sprays urine over the head of the female.



I have heard it and believe me it isn't pretty. Didn't know the part about the spraying.

They were all over where I lived. I almost stepped on one once when bow hunting and stalking a deer. I mean it was like less less than a yard from my foot. Kinda scary.


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## the HEED! (Feb 7, 2007)

lightning maybe?


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## Jasper (Feb 7, 2007)

300 Mag said:


> My wife would never stand for that type of mating dance.



One time back when I was in college................on second thought, never mind............


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## the HEED! (Feb 7, 2007)

I got it! A bucktoothed wood pecker!


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## DCHunter (Feb 7, 2007)

Maybe a stupid question, but what is a fisher?


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## GA1dad (Feb 7, 2007)

Mtn. Hunter said:


> GA1dad,
> The porcupine theory seems to make more sense. I didn't think we had porcupines in the mountains of N. Ga. I guess anything is possible.
> 
> Mtn. Hunter



Either way, I hope we can get a definative answer. I saw something similar in 1990 on Rum Creek about a quarter mile from where it dumps into th Ocmulgee River. It's been so long, I don't remember if there were chips like the ones you posted. The one I saw was also 8 or 9 foot high. At first I thought bear, but South Monroe County is not known for bears. I hope we get some sorta proof on any theory.


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## markantony57 (Feb 7, 2007)

I think it is Baywolf (misspelled).


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## Tombuster (Feb 7, 2007)

I think it is a cross between the Florida Skunk Ape and a porcupine. He was trying to scratch his back and made a mess.


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## jinx0760 (Feb 7, 2007)

*That's the way we do it!*

 


chambers270 said:


> I dont know what it is, but I did not know we had Porcupines or Fishers in Georgia? I did find this when I googled porcupines. I bet they did make some noise!
> 
> 
> Porcupines mate in late summer and early fall. Porcupines are very vocal during mating season. Males often fight over females. The male performs an elaborate dance and sprays urine over the head of the female.


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## Hoyt (Feb 7, 2007)

Whatever did it had beaver like front teeth.


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## GAbuckhunter88 (Feb 7, 2007)

Look yall are all wrong, its an Abominal Snow Man migrated to the deep south and is rubbing up against trees in order to get his fur off.


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## 60Grit (Feb 7, 2007)

I've watched the Rangers make a mess of some trees up that way, not too far from Winding Stair gap, using simulated artilary.

Don't think this was done with any pyrotechnics, but they do play hard up there this time of year, and getting some strips of wood to make wooly or fuzzy sticks for some fire making wouldn't be out of the quesion either, or maybe more resourceful alternatives.

Definitly looks man made though.


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## kevincox (Feb 7, 2007)

Surveyor marking property line after a long night on the town!


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## 60Grit (Feb 7, 2007)

We don't have porucupines in Ga. We're not even close to there range.


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## CAL (Feb 7, 2007)

balvarik said:


> Found this out and it's from a Georgia firm!
> www.insectimage.com/Gallery 16/0620_11.html
> 
> How's this look?
> Mike



Looks like you knew what you were talking about all along.I never doubted your first post myself!


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## 60Grit (Feb 7, 2007)

balvarik said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but is not coyotes a new addition to yall's grid-square?
> 
> 
> Maybe they were brought in by those "black panthers" I keep hearing about down there?
> Mike


 
Hey now.........we have lot's of Black Panthers, they just stay in town mostly...


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## LJay (Feb 7, 2007)

Didn't used to be no 'Dilla's up this way either. Or fire ants, or 'Yotes. But, they be here now.


Oh yeah, HOGS are new comers too.


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## CAL (Feb 7, 2007)

Mike,
I wish you could come down and help with these blame hogs.I bet you would deal a death blow on them suckers.


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## jcarter (Feb 7, 2007)

i dont know what made that, nor do i know what made this.  wood chips scattered out to five feet away. chips are 3 to 5 inches. one end has been completly separated from the branch. the branch is about the size of a mans forearm.


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## fulldraw74 (Feb 8, 2007)

doenightmare said:


> Classic bigfoot territory marker - seen it a hundred times.



I agree......all over the place up there.


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## bany (Feb 8, 2007)

looks like ol'porky to me too.


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## ed'sboy (Feb 8, 2007)

balvarik said:


> Up northeast in the BlueRidge the USFG transplanted Grey-Wolves in the North Carolina(Cherokee county).
> May they never find their way down into your game-fields,farms and ranches.
> 
> If they do flurish and follow the large amounts of game throughout that region,then you will here the cries of the anti's who lost fifi the poodle and tigger the cat,the rage of the ranchers/farmers who have livestock killed/maimed/eaten and the outdoorsman&women who lose prize-dogs/family-dogs to these killing machines.
> ...



I believe that was red wolves that were transplanted some years back and it's my understanding that the repopulation efforts aren't faring too well.


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## DanTroop2000 (Feb 8, 2007)

ELK RUB


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## Coastie (Feb 8, 2007)

balvarik said:


> PORKYPINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> The loggers up here(foresters too)see that from the road and take to hunting down and killing the varmint up here!
> Thing is we have no possum's but what we lack in them we have a surplus of porky's!!
> ...



We don't have Porcupines here in Georgia.


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## gregj (Feb 8, 2007)

I say porky....usually they will "girdle" a tree. Used to see a lot of that where i grew up  in MICH .   U.P.     They;ll
eat  the handle of a garden rake or shovel  for the salt
left from your sweaty hands.


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## Sargent (Feb 8, 2007)

GAbuckhunter88 said:


> Look yall are all wrong, its an Abominal Snow Man migrated to the deep south and is rubbing up against trees in order to get his fur off.



FYI... He migrated because of global warming.


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## the HEED! (Feb 9, 2007)

*sorry but youre wrong Balvarik*



balvarik said:


> No such thing as a "Red Wolf"!
> Only the cross-bred critter that is more Grey(Timber)Wolf than Red!
> Mike



red wolves were native to the Appalachain chain and up until the 70's still exsisted in the wild and 17 were taken for a breeding program and now have been reintroduced, they were a native animal smaller than a grey or timber wolf and larger than a coyote, they had a restocking of them near the Cades Cove area of Tennesee some years ago with undetermined results

they bred captive pairs and released them into the great smoky mtn region but the natural regeneration was thought to fail, currently there are about 300 captive red wolfs in zoos and wildlife parks, they once ranged the whole eastern seaboards mountainous region, they range form 45 to 75 lbs  http://www.fws.gov/alligatorriver/redwolf.html


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## the HEED! (Feb 9, 2007)

update from just last years study

2006- present
100 wild red wolves roam 1.7 milion acres of Great Smoky mtns park land


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## the HEED! (Feb 9, 2007)

oh for all the know it alls those arent coyotes in the pics, research it


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## THREEJAYS (Feb 9, 2007)

May be the effects of radiation on some poor old critter


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## whitworth (Feb 12, 2007)

*Better be Careful*

Some tree hugger will blame it on treestands and want to get them banned !


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## BowanaLee (Feb 12, 2007)

Looks like a porcupine chewed it because of the chips.
I didnt know we had em in georgia.Its a new one on me.


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## SELFBOW (Feb 12, 2007)

looks like some type of rodent. possibly even rats. seen lots of that in ohio.


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## 60Grit (Feb 12, 2007)

THREEJAYS said:


> May be the effects of radiation on some poor old critter


 
maybe it's a wookalar


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## xjd33x (Feb 12, 2007)

I say woodpeckers.


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## 338mag (Feb 16, 2007)

*i know what did that!!!!!*

it was chew-barka you know from star wars.


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## KKrueger (Feb 21, 2007)

Maybe a horse?


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## Dub (May 7, 2007)

doenightmare said:


> Classic bigfoot territory marker - seen it a hundred times.


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## gpigate (May 7, 2007)

ok the porcupine is the most interesting no doubt.  

http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/animals/porcupine.html

i had no clue that they nested in trees, didn't hibernate and fed on trees too...  you learn something every day


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## Sultan of Slime (May 12, 2007)

doenightmare said:


> Classic bigfoot territory marker - seen it a hundred times.




yep , my ex wife moved up there after the divorce and she wore a size 11.


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## jinx0760 (May 13, 2007)

*Sounds like homecoming weekend at Auburn?*

Porcupines mate in late summer and early fall. Porcupines are very vocal during mating season. Males often fight over females. The male performs an elaborate dance and sprays urine over the head of the female.[/QUOTE]


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## fish hawk (Jun 27, 2007)

shaq with a realy dull axe


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## Bell_Man (Jun 27, 2007)

maybe it was Darth Nileus


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## Resica (Jul 6, 2007)

porky.


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## tcoker (Jul 7, 2007)

i don't know if it's a porcupine or not. I don't believe they are indigenous to Georgia.  If they were you wouldn't see them all the time if your like me.  I've killed a few (out west they shoot every skunk and porcupine they see, because the skunks dig holes for the cows/horses to step off in,and besides they are skunks and the porcupines will destroy a whole grove of what little trees grow.  However I never knew they lived in trees before I spent some time out west and would only occasionally see them until I learned I was looking down when I should have been looking up. The majority of their time is spent in the trees.  Most trees I've seen eaten by porcupines are smooth(er) in the damaged area but if it is a porcupine down here he's probably confused anyway. He'll leave when he bites off in a good ole loblolly pine and gets a mouth full of pine sap.


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## greene_dawg (Jul 11, 2007)

I can tell you what it is with 100% certainty. It's a tree that's had it's bark taken off by something. That part was easy. I'm guessing it was done by a bear holding a porcupine fending off a bigfooted black skunk panther from Florida. It's a no brainer fellas.


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## knifemaker (Jul 12, 2007)

Depends on what the meaning of the word is, is.

Read them all, and enjoyed my reading.


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