Birch Tree

Beautiful textures and color. I don’t know much about trees, but it looks like some kind of birch – maybe a paper birch?

According to Savvy Gardening:

Shedding bark occurs most often on the trunks of certain trees, but bark peel can also occur on smaller branches and twigs, depending on the plant species. Some trees with peeling bark shed their older bark in large chunks while others shed it in thin, papery sheets. In some species, the bark flakes off. For trees where peeling bark is a natural trait, there’s no need to worry about the health of your trees. The phloem that carries the sap through the plant just beneath the bark’s surface is performing its job just fine.

As trees grow, their bark thickens. The inner layers of bark are thin and soft, while the outermost bark consists of thick, dead tissue made up of old phloem and cork. The tree’s growth pushes the trunk outward and the bark cracks. This outer bark is then sloughed off to expose the inner layer of new bark. When older bark is shed from the tree’s exterior, new, healthy bark takes its place. Almost all trees naturally shed bark as they grow; some just do it more noticeably than others. Trees with bark that peels in a decorative fashion take the whole process to extremes. You might even say they’re a bit dramatic about it!

Taken with a Sony RX100 IV.

First snowfall of 2024-2025

We had our first snowfall of the year today. It looked like there was a fair bit, but when I took out the garbage the driveway was clear and so was Holbrook Road. It’s pretty much all gone now, except for bits on grassy surfaces. I usually take a picture in the garden or in the meadow, but this time it was such a light snowfall I just took a picture of this leaf on what little snow there was. Although there wasn’t much snow it’s still a miserable cold, windy, rainy/snowy day so I’ve decided to stay home today.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Samyang 45mm f1.8

A Tree

This tree stands on what was once Rockwood Hall, the home of William Rockefeller, the brother of John Davison Rockefeller with whom he co-founded Standard Oil.

I’m not sure what kind of tree it is (some people have suggested that it’s a willow, but I’m not convinced). I’ve photographed it a number of times before and have never been satisfied with the result. I’m not entirely satisfied with this one either, but at least it’s better than the others.

Taken with a Sony RX100 M3