QUAKING ASPEN

ASPEN GROVE...

...GOLDEN LEAVED, SHINNING  IN THE MORNING SUN

ODE RESIDENCE, SURROUNDED BY OAKS, MAPLES, BIRCH AND PINE

Sunday, 9:00 AM.  47 degrees F at the ferry dock, 44 0n the back porch.  Wind NE, calm with strong gusts. The sky is overcast and it is raining lightly, the humidity 86%.  The barometer is rising, now at 29.91".  Rain is forecast on Wednesday, with temperatures in the low forties to fifty degrees forthe next week.  There are now as many leaves on the ground as on the trees, but it is still colorful.

   Quaking aspen, Populous tremuloides, in the Willow Family (Salicaceae), is one of our commonest northern trees, and a backbone of the logging and paper industries, as it can be clear cut for pulp and grow back rapidly from stump sprouts.  Aspen can  grow very large, up to 80' tall and 3' and more in diameter. Aspen can be very beautiful in fall; some falls it is rather drab, but this year it turns the hills to gold. 

   I also like the fact that the leaves move gaily in the slightest breeze, a function of the flattened leaf petioles.  Unfortunately, it has limited usefulness in landscaping, as it is very short-lived and is subject to disease and storm damage.

   Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America, occurring in most of Canada and Alaska, around the Great Lakes and in New England. Elsewhere, it occurs at elevation in mountain ranges as far south as Georgia and central Mexico.
   Many people think that having a house in the woods renders it maintenance free; unfortunately, trees are constantly becoming damaged, diseased and prone to blow down, and this is particularly prevalent in an aspen dominated woodlot, where constant monitoring, pruning and removal is necessary for the safety of people and property.