To Identify Trees, Look Down

Long ago, when winters were winters, and codglings were young men, and I was being trained to teach shivering 6th graders about nature in the depths of a New Hampshire winter, one of my mentors told us that even at night, walking through the woods, it's possible to identify trees simply by the sound the wind makes overhead, blowing through the canopy.

A similar approach can be used during the day, walking through town. This has been the week of the red maple blossoms, dotting the sidewalks with red.

Before falling, they look like this.

A scattering of sweetgum balls on the ground tell you what you'll see overhead,

without having to crane your neck.