Son of a Beech

There's so much excitement about the progress of the house build.  Yet, we don't want to forget about the stars of the show, our trees.  Each walk in the woods provides new objects of wonder, thanks to our arborous friends.  Fagus Grandifolia, the American Beech, exists throughout the property.  Most are relatively young (sons of beeches, we call them), but a few really big ones were found yesterday.  Like Sugar Maple, beech enjoys the shade.  One distinctive feature of the beech is the smooth bark at maturity.  They are easy to identify because of that.  One problem that beeches can develop is a bark disease that creates cankers and weakens the tree.  Beeches have wonderful color in the fall, a striking orange/gold. 

Beech and oak are on the same wing of the tree family.  Both have edible nuts as fruit.  Moose and deer apparently like the small beech nut.

An excellent double-trunked yellow birch was photographed yesterday.  This one will knock your socks off:

Although we named the property for the great hardwoods like oak, maple, and birch, we don't want people to think that we reject the conifers (a.k.a. softwoods).  Here are two photos of some.  This first appears to be a mix of hemlock and fir.  The second shows several white pines (pinus strobus), which can reach towering dimensions.  They are the most plentiful mature softwood on the property: