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Spike in Toby Tree
When I bought my property last year, the paperwork included a sketch of the property boundaries. I was immediately fascinated by the corner marked “SPIKE IN TOBY TREE”, and that’s the first thing I went looking for, and I still haven’t found it. I still only know where one of the corners is if I can trust the iron pipe I found. Another corner is supposed to be a fence post, and I’ve seen a few badly rotten ones, take your pick. The third corner is an iron pin somewhere in the woods and I’m sure I’ve been within a stone’s throw. And then there’s the toby tree which surely is one of the trees along the road, unless it’s gone.
What I am curious about is, if a surveyor puts a spike in a tree in 1986, what would it look like then? Would the spike be, say, knee level or eye level? Which way would the spike face? How much does a tree grow in 30+ years and what happens to the spike? Does it end up inside the tree? When you put a spike in a tree, how many years do you expect it to be a useful monument? Surely you would be well aware that trees grow and change and get old and fall some day?
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