I picked a tree that I thought was a young Red Maple but upon closer inspection of a branch+bud that I brought home I’m thinking it may actually be a Norway Maple but I’m unsure of anything lately. There was no evidence of flowering, fruiting, or flower budding. Just the cold buds of winter.
I didn’t do myself any favors by picking a young maple with less identifiable bark but the older maples’ branches were too far above my head to reach and I forgot my ladder at home. I believed Red Maple because the buds looked like they had a reddish hue, but after a second analysis and looking at my Winter Twig Identification paper from class I’m afraid it may be a Norway Maple as their buds can also be red and the smaller bud kinda looks like a Norway Maple bud shape.