begin to drift downward only to melt upon a ground still warm from the receding daylight. Animals scurry about in final preparations for the reality of the long dark and cold. Humans look away again from the canopy to prepare their ground based shelter.  The trees do not hide. They are prepared.

Many trees hold onto their seeds, seed pods and fruit during the winter, a feature much relied upon by over-wintering birds. The sycamore’s fruit will not reveal its seeds until these ornamental looking balls disintegrate later in the winter. It has been noted that a sycamore cannot be depended upon for seed after the age of 250 years. Humans, take note.

soft crowns of green. Trunks and green leaves are vibrant after a spring rain and the water drops fall gently on the ground overlying great tree roots. The tree canopy, alive with butterfly and bird, will move to the touch of a tender breeze, and yet will shelter its subjects from the ravages of inevitable spring storms.

The black locust is poisonous to humans and livestock who seek to eat its bark or twigs. Forest-friendly, it provides for seed-eating birds and small mammals. The seed pods cling to the tree throughout the winter. A survivor, the black locust can be planted in areas where other trees rarely survive.

and we celebrate it with the colour of passion in the red maple leaf, and symbolically with the maple tree. Interestingly, the maple tree was not officially recognized as Canada’s aboreal emblem until 1996, although the maple leaf had been incorporated in crests and emblems from the mid 1880’s. Many historians suggest that the maple leaf was used as such a symbol as far back as 1700. The red maple leaf flag was officially flown as our national flag on February 15, 1965.

Being a resourceful lot, Canadians have enjoyed other gifts of the maple tree that include the obvious maple syrup in all its grades from clear through light to dark amber; the beauty and hardness of maple crafts and lumber; music in its name and of course, the maple leaf tartan..

We now see a leaf’s underlying pigments, masked by the colour of chlorophyll during the spring and summer. Temperature, sunlight and soil moisture all affect the quality of the glorious fall colours. Trees are truly great beings, quietly drawing from the environment only those things needed for growth and reproduction. They replenish the earth after death and give us oxygen to breathe until our own passing.

We associate the sturdy oak with long life, resilience and acorn bombs. In Canada there are 11 species of oaks that can be grouped into either red oaks or white oaks. One distinguishing feature is the shape of the leaves: the white oak leaf group has rounded lobes whereas the red oak group has bristle-tipped lobes.

are signs of the warming of the northern hemisphere as the planet continues its rotation around the sun. Within the canopy, trees have individual growth patterns that are striking in both the fall and in the spring. This is reflected in different heights, colors and also in the varied hues of green. The weeping willow can be spotted amongst other trees of the canopy by the clouds of sweeping spring color and progressive height of clumps of its branches. The soft yellows that are stunning after winter quickly give way to green as spring turns into summer. Often planted for ornamental purposes, the weeping willow grows quickly and provides great shade, especially in moisture-rich areas.

For some trees, like the redbud, it will be the first time in a five year old’s life that flowers will grow to meet the warming rays of the sun. This is a season of celebration.

From March to May, the magenta pink flowers of the redbud pop out from bare branches and even from the trunk itself, well before the leaves appear. Bees dart in and around the pink canopy, polinating as they reach deep inside each flower for the nectar.  Native to southern Ontario,  the redbud is also a popular ornamental tree and a source of seeds for many species of birds.

The ritual of putting on outdoor wear balanced by drinking hot chocolate makes the season of winter an intriguing time to explore the world unseen in summer. If we look up to the canopy, we can see other things that have been hidden by the leaves. There are squirrels nests way up in the trees, whipping around in winds that would make a carnival ride look tame.  We also find occasional bird’s nest and to where the wasps were heading.

Bobbing at the end of a Norway maple branch, this paper mâché ornament was molded around the leaves that remain stuck in the nest. Unlike bees that have wax-producing glands, many wasps build their nest from layering paper-like material from wood pulp they have chewed. There are no wasps in these abandoned nests and they will not be re-used.

Few people look upward in this month as it is back to school after the summer break and back to work from summer holidays. With music ringing through ear pods, rushing cars, and lots of shool cheers, there is little time to listen to the soft rustle in the leaves overhead and less time to look up.  But change is in the air for the tree canopy as well.

Leaves stretch out to grasp the remaining penetrating rays of the decreasing daylight. Backlit by an early morning clear sky, the northern catalpa spreads itself across as much of the canopy as it can to maximize light capture for its growth and reproduction before it will return to winter dormancy.  The northern catalpa may live only to about 50 years of age but its life is filled with changes from showy flowers in the spring to fruit capsules that remain on the tree in the winter.

We now see a leaf’s underlying pigments, masked by the colour of chlorophyll during the spring and summer. Temperature, sunlight and soil moisture all affect the quality of the glorious fall colours. Trees are truly great beings, quietly drawing from the environment only those things needed for growth and reproduction. They replenish the earth after death and give us oxygen to breathe until our own passing.

We associate the sturdy oak with long life, resilience and acorn bombs. In Canada there are 11 species of oaks that can be grouped into either red oaks or white oaks. One distinguishing feature is the shape of the leaves: the white oak leaf group has rounded lobes whereas the red oak group has bristle-tipped lobes.