I headed down to Centennial Woods to revisit my paper birch tree. It still had birch polypore at the base, and I noticed more groups at the top this time. There are definitely more prominent buds today, but still no flowering. A new branch (more like a twig) has started to grow towards the bottom, allowing me to see the round buds.
I also noticed that the top of my tree kind of looks cut off, and there were pieces on the ground a few feet from the base. I’m not positive if these pieces came from my tree, but it’s something to consider. It could have broken off during the rain, and then split in half.