By The Silver Maple Grove…

Good News! I finally got my iNaturalist account to work just in time to participate in the City Nature Challenge iNaturalist BioBlitz! The challenge couldn’t have taken place on a worse weekend in terms of weather, as it managed to be cold and rainy almost every day. Somehow, however, that didn’t stop me from spending […]

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I returned to the grove the other day for the final (official) time and, to my delight, the magic has begun to return. Color has finally re-emerged in the area as the trees begin to leaf out and the ground cover returns. Dandelions have begun to bloom and ostrich fern fiddleheads have popped up everywhere, […]

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Earlier this week I managed to make my way back to the Silver Maple Grove to check in on my silver maple tree from a couple of weeks ago! I noticed a significant difference in the lower and upper buds on the tree in terms of development as the lower ones seemed farther behind on […]

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This past week, while I was unable to visit the silver maple tree which I wrote about in my previous post, I was able to observe and photograph a different silver maple in order to keep an eye on the phenological changes occurring in this species around this time of year! This different silver maple […]

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I made the trek back out to the silver maple grove this past Tuesday in an attempt to find and identify a tree to observe through the spring season. I ended up choosing a silver maple tree (as was the only fitting choice considering the name of this blog…) which is growing towards the edge […]

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This week, instead of returning to the sliver maple grove, I made an expedition into Centennial Woods in hope of finding some evidence of wildlife in the area. This trip would’ve been amazingly successful, I’m sure, had there been any snow or non-trampled mud to find tracks or scat in. Unfortunately, however, almost every day […]

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The Silver Maple Grove feels different now. The space which was once defined by its almost magical iridescent glow now has a more quiet, majestic quality. A layer of snow coats each branch of every visible tree, highlighting the sheer breadth of the forest. Somehow, the trees feel taller and more powerful than ever and […]

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This past Thursday I finally conjured the courage to bundle up, face the cold, and return to the silver maple grove. When I arrived, I was struck immediately by the lack of green. No leaves remain on any of the trees, save perhaps a couple of stubborn silver maple leaves which are clinging, shriveled and […]

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Earlier today, I returned to the grove to pay the area another visit. I hadn’t been back to my site since my last post from about two weeks ago and I was immediately struck by how much has changed. The grove no longer has the same ethereal golden glow. The leaves which were previously an […]

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