From yellow to silver

How magnificent is yellow birch! Interestingly, the tree's bronze bark starts to turn silver in old age. That's why silver birch is a nickname for this utterly awesome species. This old fellow stands very close to our north property line (note the red marker on the upper right of the photo). The spot is about 1,600 feet from the house, with an elevation drop of more than 200 feet. Big Freaking Sugar Maple, a tree our long-time blog fans will recall, is another giant on this part of Hardwood Hermitage.

As you can see from the pic, we had tremendous sunlight today. Solar surpassed 35 kw/hrs by 4:30 p.m. The thaw has begun in earnest but the walk back from taking the picture still required lots of plodding through some snow. Well worth the effort!