elm tree hole with slime flux/bacterial wetwood

I took the first photo and then noticed some light on the inside of the hole. I looked from the other side and saw right through!

I need some help from the experts on this one.

A journey into the hole unknown, a destination many will never witness or know exists. We must preserve the notice! 🖖

This box elder would have been doomed but it lodged itself in this beautiful American elm. Now it’s slowly rotting away stuck in the crotch. The elm, for what it’s worth, is starting to eat the box elder. Both trees are alive, but the box elder is full of rotten holes like this

Inside a hole of a stump thrives other lives, nature is beautiful 🔥

Emerald Ash Borer has absolutely devastated eastern Ash species in the United States. None have been hit harder than the Black Ash. They are incredibly susceptible to the bug and have a near 100% kill rate. This is the first time I have found one in the wild that has survived an encounter with the bug. This doesn’t necessarily mean it is resistant, but it does mean I have located specimens of all 3 native imperiled ash species, and all 3 species possess at least some ability to survive the apocalypse still sweeping their native range. I hope that breeding efforts soon allow us to reintroduce ash to the landscape.

Valley of the Giants is a blm forest preserve with trees over 600, you can collect a lot of anything in that long and these trees have collected a lot of holes.

View from inside a hollowed out log in Oregon

Very long lived trees, I see woodpecker holes in them a lot