i'm a tree guy from way back.
Catalpa is a favorite with me. locally we have several big ole' girls.
one in particular you might find of interest. it is one of the tallest in town and a stately specimen . a basketball goal is encased inside it, having been nailed to it twenty five years ago and consequently never removed.
starting from the root crown to about seven feet up the side of the tree was an opening big enough for a kid to step into. probably caused by a lightening strike. most of the Catalpas of any size in this area show scaring from lightening strikes, which often causes the bark to explode as the heat from the lightening rapidly boils the sap under the bark. where the gap closed off is where the basketball goal was attached to the tree ,the gap is no longer there as the tree grew new wood closing up the door. Hollow Catalpas are a favorite place for wild bees to colonize, so of course they set up home inside this tree,just about where the goal was on the outside is where the bees were on the inside. the kid who lived there decided he'd do away with the bees by building a fire (again) inside the hollow part of the tree. well i think the bees vacated, but i'm not really sure if they did, i do know the tree smoldered for six months afterwords and it is still alive and healthy as a Catalpa could possibly be after all that..
buzz
