On Sunday afternoon (3/26), I took an icy hike through Centennial Woods back to the tree that I had visited two weeks ago. I had begun searching for the whereabouts of my tree when I found another beech that I would be able to compare my observations with. The beech that I had originally looked at was a fairly small sapling that did not show much change since the last visit (3/10), so this nearby beech is more mature but still relatively small in diameter.
on the second beech tree, there seemed to be more pronounced signs of spring tree phenology. some of the buds were green along the edges and a few had even opened to expose a fuzzy gray substance. Knowing that beech budding and flowering produces more of a yellow and green long-stem flower with feathery tassels and globular clusters. The gray substance that is coming out of the beech bud pictured above is of concern as that is not what is usual. This may be a sign of health issues or disease. Maybe when I revisit next time there will be more signs of budding.
