Alright Soy, you got me there. Nobody's that stubborn ! Except ,maybe myself of course.
. All that aside, as far north as you are, the short growing season would most likely cause very tight growth rings. You would probably have to sand the end to see 'em clearly. Blackhawk is right about the male trees having less thorns if any. Where I live, the Osage trees have a lot of variance in bark patterns. In a mile long hedge row , there can be as many as a half dozen different bark patterns. This to, I will show you when you get here in April. Josh