In honor of Arbor Day here's a post about trees, and in particular, our favorite tree, Birdy.
If you follow my blog at all, by now you have seen Birdy numerous times. In just about every squirrel or bird picture I post, he is there, his grand green branches outstretched wide, filling our windows and hearts with delight. So you've seen bits and pieces, but take a look at the photo at left ~ Are you thinking what I'm thinking? What a fine looking fellow is Birdy!
We found this funny forest face at Plow & Hearth and couldn't resist adding a bit of personality to our beloved tree. Below is a photo of our Earlybird as he met the new "neighbor" for the very first time. He 
had been napping when dh put up the face, and at first he was quite timid about it. But he mostly got over his shyness and now Earlybird always remembers to greet Birdy when he passes the windows. Close up contact is another matter however. When helping to fill the feeders that hang from Birdy, Earlybird will offer his greeting, but from a distance.
I don't know what we'd ever do if something happened to Birdy. He means so much to our family ~ not to mention all the birds and critters that call his canopy home. I posted recently about some rather strange behavior involving his branches and buds. As I mentioned before the buds on the south side of Birdy appear pnk, while those on the north are brown. A little more research led me to The Nature of Cones where, if I read the information right the variance in color is due to 
gender and not position.
So to kick off a botany study this spring and summer we will take a good look at the kinds of trees that grow here in our corner of New England. One resource I'm really looking forward to using is The Big Tree by Bruce Hiscock. (Thank you Cay for the suggestion!) Also on tap is Trees: A Peterson First Guide as well as, I'm sure, lots of hands-on field work ~ beginning tomorrow with a visit to a local farm to observe the apple trees in bloom!
As part of the study we will take a look at the gifts trees offer us ~ fresh air, shade, protection ~ not to mention those more tangible gifts like lumber, paper, fruit and maple syrup (in the Arbor Day spirit, I posted a favorite maple recipe at Harvest Home).
And of course, no nature study would be complete without the guiding hand of an author familiar to many readers here ...
Here's what Anna Botsford Comstock has to say, in the Handbook of Nature Study, about pines:
"None other of our trees is more beautiful than the pine. In the East we have the white pine with its fine-tasselled foliage, growing often one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height and reaching an age of two to three hundred years."
I have no idea how old Birdy is, but I do hope he has many more years in him!
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