Of rocks and birches

The balmy wintah continues. A trace of snow yesterday led to discovery of what seems undoubtedly to be bear tracks. No pics of the bear (yet), but there's always birches. The first shows the panorama of a birch grove that will benefit from cutting in a few weeks.

Black cherry, which is a fine tree, will be cut out of the grove. Note the dark young trunks of the appropriately named tree. The species grows best farther south, so birches get the benefits when cherry is thinned up here. A quaking aspen and a few other less desirable trees are also doomed in this area.

A typical hardwood forest in northern New Hampshire. Note the red oak on the right, bigger paper birch, and yellow birch in the middle. Visible somewhat in the distance is a towering red maple.

Rocks and birches go so well together, don't they?