Just before sunrise when I go to the road to get the newspaper, I'm struck by the grove of locust trees at the side of our house. The crooked trunks and tangled limbs silhouetted against the sky have always reminded me of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the famous short story by Washington Irving. I half expect to see the Headless Horseman galloping out of the woods.
Locust trees get their wild shapes because they have a growth spurt in their juvenile years which magnifies any bends or crooks. The most frequent uses for the extra hard wood, especially the black locust variety, are fence posts, railroad ties and xylophone keys. It once was the primary wood for pegs or dowels used in ship building.
Ichabod Crane signing out.
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