Outdoor columnist Dan Geddings: Consider the pines

"I wish we could get the ducks here like they have in Arkansas," one of the guys lamented. We had just crossed over the Savannah River and were on the interstate highway heading back into South Carolina. I answered, "Look out the window, tell me - what do you see?" He shrugged and said, "Nothing but pine trees." Rolling hills cloaked in dark green pines stretched out in all directions.

There were six of us in the van heading home after a fantastic three days of duck hunting in eastern Arkansas. "Ducks don't eat pine cones," I replied, and I wasn't being sarcastic. "We don't have rice fields or flooded hardwoods; instead we have pine trees. There are some coastal marshes and a few inland river swamps that attract ducks, but the waterfowl habitat here just doesn't compare to other places."

We have pine trees, and plenty of them. Mostly Loblolly, some longleaf, shortleaf and some pond pines. At one time, longleaf pines were the predominate trees across the Southeast. They spread over 9 million acres. Their heartwood built the original homes, stores and factories of the South. I think longleaf pines are the most beautiful of all the trees.

Longleaf pines' thick bark makes them fire resistant, and their big cones produce large seeds that are an important wildlife food source. The long needles make the best straw ground cover. They go through stages of growth that are unique among trees. As seedlings, there is a grass stage where the young trees actually look like clumps of green grass. There is a bottlebrush stage, where they push upward with long needles bristled out from a central stalk. When branches appear, they begin to resemble trees. Locally, Manchester State Forest has some beautiful stands of longleaf.

Loblolly pines are the most predominate tree in the South now. They are easier to plant. They grow to maturity quicker and are favored on the landscape where fire is suppressed. Timber companies favor the loblolly, and they are planted in rows just like any other crop. Loblolly stands are usually thinned after 10 to 12 years, then again at 20 years. There will be a final cutting at 30 years, and the cycle will start over with new trees.

The timber companies lease much of their pineland out to hunting clubs. The monoculture of pines provides some wildlife value at different stages. However, nothing beats the value of a natural forest. The loblolly spreads faster and farther in natural woodlands due to their small seeds which can travel better on the wind. They volunteer on ditch banks and field edges. They can be easily damaged by fire. The world-record loblolly stands at 167 feet in the Congaree National Forest. It is a magnificent tree.

On my property in Clarendon County, there were several giant pond pines. They stood on little hummocks out in a wetland area. Hurricane Hugo knocked them down. They don't stand in the water but will find a dry spot and are usually found as individual trees, not in groves.

A few years ago on a visit to Forty Acre Rock, my wife, Ginger, and I saw shortleaf pines along one of the trails. Their cones are unusually small. They are not common in our area.

Some parts of the world have no trees. In South Korea, I saw concrete fence posts. Concrete light poles and houses of concrete, stone or thatch. There were no pines for lumber.

Here there are pine trees as far as the eye can see. That is the normal. Logging trucks loaded with pines pass by on the road near my home every day. They are headed to a nearby mill that produces oriented strand board, also known as OSB. At least we have the trees, and they are seen as a renewable resource. In that, we are blessed.

Out in the woodlands, pines will talk to us if we listen. The wind makes a distinctive sound blowing through the branches and needles. Their sound is as old as the ages.

Reach Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.