Another Puzzle or Attack of the Tree-hackers!

  Sometimes things on the Bayou can be quite confusing to say the least.  I find strange things that I just cannot explain.  Others with far more knowledge may look at my enigma and snicker at my ignorance but I am in the dark.  Today while out for on a hike, my attention turned solely to my little persimmon tree.  About six feet up from the ground two rather sizely cut marks had appeared in the bark.  This distressed not only my poor tree but also me!  I like my persimmons but I adore this small tree.  It is strange, I admit, to feel this way about a tree especially since there are many, many more persimmon trees on the hillside. You see, this little tree has become sort of a emblem of endurance for me.  It grows maybe thirty feet from the marsh line so every hurricane, tropical storm and even strangely high tides will cause its roots to be sogged by saltwater. Hurricane and tropical storm winds bend it this way and that. The leaves are stripped bare and the limbs receive quite a thrashing.  Debris will tear at the tree almost like a battering ram.  Yet, my little persimmon tree survives.  How?  The only answer I have is that the tree is resilient.  Through all of this, I have become encouraged by the tree.  It is my answer to hard times.  It gives me hope in tough times.  It survives.

  Now some unknown entity is lashing out at the little tree and I have no sure answer as to how to help it. Will these two scars cause untold damage whereas hurricane scrapes have not?  I placed my hands on the open wounds and almost felt the pain of the tree.  If it could only tell me what did this. Yeah, I know that sounds weird but I am grasping at thin air for answers.

  I headed back inside the Little Bayou House to research the problem.  If I could find out just what was causing the cuts, then perhaps I could prevent any future damage to my fruit trees.  Last month I was alarmed at the rate of rabbit gnawings on the mimosa tree saplings.  If this had been near the ground and soft wood, I might have easily blamed the bunnies.  The fact that this was six feet up on the trunk and on hard, seasoned wood, left me without that option.  Also, the gouges looked to be hacked into the wood, not gnawed or chewed.  Deer will munch on tree limbs but that, too, is on soft wood.  I have never heard of nor could I find any information on anything that will eat the side of a tree!  So my searching for an answer came to a swift, screeching halt.  I will keep watch on this and other trees about the hillside to see if this was a one time incident or if it continues to be a problem.

  Since my search gave no leads to the culprit, I will have to go with what my imagination conjured up as the perpetrator!  A new enemy has come to the Bayou and is at odds with the Wood Sprites that live in the trees here.  This new band of mythical beings are ruthless and have waged war on the friendly (albeit mischievous!) Wood Sprites.  With sharp battleaxes, these fiery Tree-hackers are attacking the Wood Sprites as they flit about the trees.  The sprites, being far more agile and speedy than the evil Tree-hackers, are able to avoid being chopped to pieces leaving the trees to catch the brunt of the blow.  This torments the Wood Sprites to no end!  They have vowed to defeat the Tree-hackers but have never learned the art of war. How will this saga end?  Will the Wood Sprites be able to defend not only themselves but the trees that give them shelter?  Will my imagination let this run and become some wild tale that demands attention?  A better question is...what can I do to help my little persimmon tree?