Cutting down *all* the trees in your yard

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

That totally looks like as aspen leaf to me. Source: my ass and my poor memory.

- Doc

[Jersey Girl]

canpakes it could possibly be Cottonwood but I tend to think Aspen. Aspens when they are putting up shoots do have bigger leaves than the mature trees.

[AZCaesar]

I lived in hurricane prone areas.

I don't think it a wise use of insurance to cover 10- year-old time-traveling viking wannabes building houses in hurricane prone areas. It's irresponsible.

[Lem]

canpakes it could possibly be Cottonwood but I tend to think Aspen. Aspens when they are putting up shoots do have bigger leaves than the mature trees.

The baby trees in my yard do the same, especially the birch and linden. The leaves can easily be 2-3 times larger than leaves from mature trees.

[honorentheos]

8 inches?? That IS huge for Aspen!

Wait ... I’m a dirty rotten liar. More like 7.25” when I actually measure. That’s still pretty big! Got a pic -

It's been a while since I spent time around Utah trees. The Dirr book...good times.

My memory is fuzzy but that looks more like a catalpa to me than an aspen. I remember catalpas having the huge papery feel that hint at a maples three lobes but not lobes. I recall aspen veins being much more regular and paired. But I don't know.

[Jersey Girl]

canpakes it could possibly be Cottonwood but I tend to think Aspen. Aspens when they are putting up shoots do have bigger leaves than the mature trees.

The baby trees in my yard do the same, especially the birch and linden. The leaves can easily be 2-3 times larger than leaves from mature trees.

Of all trees, Birch are my absolute favorite. The only reason I love the Aspens out here is because they resemble skinny Birch trees. I know I told this story on the old board. I was out there in September doing my nursing home visits up in CG and my sister took me for a day to Grounds for Sculpture. The sculptures were impressive, no doubt. But once I caught sight of the leaves on the ground and saw that the Birches were shedding bark, I started stuffing my pockets with leaves and bark. Then I got a bag. My sister said to the effect--I bring you to this outdoor art museum where you are surrounded with beautiful sculptures and all you care about are the trees.

That's who I am. Nature is my crack and in the world of trees, Birch is my drug of choice. Yes, I took all of my treasures back here. Yes, I still have it all and yes, when I went to the nursing home I absconded with fall maple leaves and also a pine cone. Put me on a beach and I am the exact same way. I walk to the shoreline and first thing I do after putting my feet in the water, is walk the shoreline with my head down searching for treasures. I don't even think about it, I go on automatic. Once I get that out of my system, I go swimming. I have left Jersey more than once with an extra suitcase of sea shells packed in sand for safe transport. I still have most of them, only using a ton of clam shells in school for art offerings for children. I have Pottery Barn clear glass lanterns of sand and shells in one of our rooms here and larger shells on shelves with my lighthouses. After my sister moved to Florida she sent me a box of shells. I cried happy tears when I opened the box and discovered what was inside. Shells and unbelievable Sand Dollars!

My children's library is filled with nature books. Nature was always the focal point of my written curriculum.

If anyone needs book titles for teaching young children about nature hit me up!

[Lem]

The baby trees in my yard do the same, especially the birch and linden. The leaves can easily be 2-3 times larger than leaves from mature trees.

Of all trees, Birch are my absolute favorite. The only reason I love the Aspens out here is because they resemble skinny Birch trees. I know I told this story on the old board. I was out there in September doing my nursing home visits up in CG and my sister took me for a day to Grounds for Sculpture. The sculptures were impressive, no doubt. But once I caught sight of the leaves on the ground and saw that the Birches were shedding bark, I started stuffing my pockets with leaves and bark. Then I got a bag. My sister said to the effect--I bring you to this outdoor art museum where you are surrounded with beautiful sculptures and all you care about are the trees.

That's who I am. Nature is my crack and in the world of trees, Birch is my drug of choice. Yes, I took all of my treasures back here. Yes, I still have it all and yes, when I went to the nursing home I absconded with fall maple leaves and also a pine cone. Put me on a beach and I am the exact same way. I walk to the shoreline and first thing I do after putting my feet in the water, is walk the shoreline with my head down searching for treasures. I don't even think about it, I go on automatic. Once I get that out of my system, I go swimming. I have left Jersey more than once with an extra suitcase of sea shells packed in sand for safe transport. I still have most of them, only using a ton of clam shells in school for art offerings for children. I have Pottery Barn clear glass lanterns of sand and shells in one of our rooms here and larger shells on shelves with my lighthouses. After my sister moved to Florida she sent me a box of shells. I cried happy tears when I opened the box and discovered what was inside. Shells and unbelievable Sand Dollars!

My children's library is filled with nature books. Nature was always the focal point of my written curriculum.

If anyone needs book titles for teaching young children about nature hit me up!

Awesome! And I feel you, totally. Long before I knew how geologically unique this area was, I was collecting rocks from everywhere for my rock garden. I have an amazing collection now.

And I love, love love to hear that you have a children's library. Why am I not surprised. Me too.

[Jersey Girl]

Awesome! And I feel you, totally. Long before I knew how geologically unique this area was, I was collecting rocks from everywhere for my rock garden. I have an amazing collection now.

And I love, love love to hear that you have a children's library. Why am I not surprised. Me too.

Omg Lem you are making me homesick. If you drive 280 E to W you can see all those rock formations! Also, when I was a kid we used to drive Rt.17 up to the Catskills where I was born and my god the scenery! The Delaware? Gorgeous!!

Oh lord, I need a coupla shots of vaccine and get me out of here.

New Jersey is so diverse in so many ways. North Jersey is gorgeous scenery and land features. Go down the Shore and you've got the beaches and Pine Barrens--and the sunsets over the Atlantic. I haven't been to West Jersey in several decades, but I assume it is still farm and ranch country to some degree.

Oh yes, I have a children's library. The books that I've chosen to personally own are a source of pride for me. While I own a multitude of hardcover picture books, one of the tree related books I have and appreciate most is just a small paperback book titled, Log Hotel. It teaches the life cycle of trees and the interdependent relationships in the ecosystem. I actually own a log hotel of my own to go with it that looks just like the one in the book. There are plenty of quality books about nature for young children that help children discover nature and learn what good stewardship means. I still use them on a fairly regular basis with the young one in our family!

When I taught preschool I would time the planting of marigold seeds to match their sprouting with the end of the school year so that when the marigolds sprouted, it was "time to go to summer" and the children took a plant of their own home to start their summer garden.

No. I didn't love teaching preschoolers. Not at all. Never. Why would anyone even think that?

[canpakes]

Wait ... I’m a dirty rotten liar. More like 7.25” when I actually measure. That’s still pretty big! Got a pic -

I am not a leaf expert but I have some doubt about the aspen leaf. Just for consideration or curiosity I will observe that the leaf looks like a fairly common brush in the canyons near my home. I am unsure of the name. The nearest Aspens are some 70 miles away as the crow flies. The mountains in my immediate neighborhood are lower elevation which I believe accounts for the lack of aspens. The difference is not so large that the plant groupings could not overlap in some places.

Oh, it’s definitely an aspen leaf. I own the young tree that it came off of. It spent most of the summer putting out typical, fairly dainty aspen leaves but was nearly defoliated during a late-season wind storm (the town next door recorded winds above 90 mph). At that point it kicked out a few of these whoppers before settling into fall dormancy. It’s actually not unusual for aspens to react to these sorts of circumstances by putting out ‘larger than typical’ leaves ... but these surprised me.

[Jersey Girl]

It spent most of the summer putting out typical, fairly dainty aspen leaves but was nearly defoliated during a late-season wind storm (the town next door recorded winds above 90 mph).