How to Identify Trees

View up the trunk of a Tulip Tree.

Do you think trees are beautiful but feel clueless about how to tell them all apart? Maybe you didn't grow up in a "naturey" family or maybe you learned a few by osmosis in childhood (maple, oak, birch...etc.) but feel unimpressive at that level and stumped about going further. Maybe you're a homeschooling mama like me who wants to teach her kids the names of the trees she doesn't even know. Don't despair! You can do it!

American Beech meets the ground.

I am always teaching my little boys about how to identify trees. I think A gets a little annoyed sometimes by my, "Hold on! Look boys...what's this?" bunny trails when we're hiking or walking the neighborhood or on our way from the house to the car. The man deserves credit though....he keeps his mouth shut and lets me keep on with my perpetual, nature pop quiz.

Underside of a fallen White Oak leaf.

I love trees. Who doesn't really?!?  They feel important and warmly beautiful and they demand our attention.  Learning their names is a good way to feel like you're genuine friends. I often have people watch me identify a tree and then sigh and shake their heads, "That's amazing." they say... "I could never do that."

Truth is, they could. And so can you. Here are five steps. 

1. The best way to start is to pick one specific tree to learn. Choose a tree you have on your property or in your neighborhood, something you see all the time will jog your memory, give you more practice and help your new knowledge stick. I think the best way to learn a new tree when you're starting from scratch is to ask someone you know who knows about nature. Either have them pick one tree and show it to you or show them a tree you've selected. Its not cheating to have someone tell you the answer....its learning. That's how you start when you don't know anything yet! Use your network with no shame.

American beech leaves, all bronze after the frost.

2. Once you have the name of the tree...google like crazy! I use the internet all the time now for plant i.d. There is all kinds of information out there now and its all just waiting for you to use it! Type the name of the tree you found into Google and read about your tree. Type: "tips for identifying ___________" and fill in the blank with your tree's name. Read about the special things unique to that tree. Write down the list if you wanna be really comprehensive, if you're feeling fast and loose, try to remember one or two of the things you read. Some of the sciencey words used to describe the tree parts might be off-putting and unfamiliar...don't be cowed...google those too!

Nib sniffing leaves he found on a hike.

3. The next time you see "your tree" again stop for a minute and look at it for the special characteristics that you read about. Notice anything else you missed before. Look at the tree like its a person. Pretend you're a kid...generally fool around: notice how it feels and how it smells and what its shape is like. Smush up a leaf and notice the sap and the scent of the smashed greenery. Snap off a twig and put it in your pocket to look at later. Kick around under the tree and see if you can find any seed pods from it to bring home. If you think of it, take pictures.

Fallen, autumn Ginko biloba leaves.

4. Teach someone else about your tree. This is where kids are fabulously helpful. If you don't have kids...teach your grandchildren or a neighbor boy or a kid at the bus stop. Teaching other people passes on the knowledge that we have (very few people know how to identify a tree...most people will be impressed and will want to know what you tell them) and it is also the very best way to cement your own knowledge in your mind.

Tulip Tree seed pod.

5. Do it again! The more times you learn a new tree and go read about it the more technical, descriptive words for tree parts you will absorb and eventually you will be able to find a tree in the woods, type the characteristics into Google (deciduous, opposite leaves, glaucus buds, palmate leaf shape) and you'll have figured out the answer to a puzzle on your own! Its a tremendous feeling. Until then, remember:

• Practice makes perfect.
• There's no shame in making mistakes....its how we learn.
• Celebrate every victory! 

 Go be a nature genius! You've got it in you.

A List of Delicious, Good For Me Snacks

I need healthy snacks.
But, I have to say they need to be delicious and healthy. All too often I fall into the trap of shoving some convenient and less than terribly nutritious, maybe not even that enjoyable something-or-other in my mouth on the go. I do it when I'm stressed out (emo-eater extraordinaire here) and when I'm tired and when I have whiney kids to feed and when we're dashing in and then back out again and I don't have time to even think, let alone cook dinner. 

Image via Wikipedia

I decided that its time to end all the empty, crappy snack insanity. I know better. I know how to eat well. I enjoy eating well. We buy good food. I live with a supportive food partner who believes in making good food choices...I'm just lazy. I'm not even talking physical laziness...its just the mental brain-fog-lazy that I need to kick. You know, this whole bit: "Uh....what could we eat???" *long and empty stare into the fridge*

Image via Wikipedia

And that was how the idea of The Vibrant Snack List was born. 
I can do the thinking now, ahead of time, when my brain still works...and then later when I'm starving and my cerebellum freezes up on me, all I have to do is scan the list (which I am posting on the side of the fridge) and then have an automatic moment of gastronomic genius with whatever ingredients we are currently stocking. 

Image by intuitive cat via Flickr

This list is full of things that I consider to be healthful, happy, easy (or at least moderately so) and super enjoyable. You might not think everything on here sounds tasty to you, pick what you like and feel free to cut anything that sounds nasty to your palate and be sure to add your own brilliant stand-bys...(hint hint! Adding them in the comments below means we all get to enjoy your brilliance.) Also worth noting is the fact that my personal version of healthful isn't everyone's definition. I like all the food groups, generally eschew sugar am an omnivore and firmly believe that fats are good. You won't find any low-fat versions of things, or substitutionary style food copycats here either. I'm all for real food, all the time.


Vibrant Snacks

Image by Flavio@Flickr via Flickr
• avocado, squeeze of lime, sprinkle of sea salt (eat out of shell with a spoon!)
• string cheese
• a small pool of good olive oil, a dash of rosemary and a good hunk of fresh bread
• honey drizzled cottage cheese
• an apple (preferably a fresh, autumn apple) eaten out-of-hand with periodic smears of natural peanut butter
• a handful of good jerky 
• dried cherries
• a glass of fresh juice (take your pick!) just pressed out of my juicer
• a sandwich w/ soft goat cheese, basil, olive oil and thick slices of ripe tomato
• a fresh, garlicky hummus with raw carrots or red pepper slices
• a poached egg, cut open to dribble over a bed of sauteed mushrooms and fresh salad greens
• half of a melon and a spoon (leave the melon to ripen on the countertop for three or four days after purchase in the grocery store...it will get melty ripe and juicy)
• a ramekin of quality granola and fresh, raw milk
• ripe strawberries, or apricots sliced into cream...sprinkled with sugar or drizzled with honey
• fluffy scrambled egg with a tiny spoonful of caviar on top, some snippings of fresh dill and a bit of sour cream
• two halves of a fresh prickly pear fruit
• shrimp cocktail
  Image by ~dgies via Flickr
• jicama spears with a squeeze of lime
• a crisp dill pickle
• a handful of blueberries
• Vietnamese summer rolls with a small dish of nuoc mam for dipping
• 1/3 of a bar of dark chocolate
• thin slices of cold leftover chicken spread with a little honey mustard
• rosemary Triscuits, wedges of apple and paper thin slices of sharp, sharp cheddar
• a spoonful of glowing honeycomb
• a handful of Sungold tomatoes
• a small dish of salted edemame
• freshly popped corn w/ butter and salt 
• celery w/ a dollop of Alouette herb cheese on top
• dark chocolate covered strawberries
• raw spinach, raw walnuts, a hunk of crumbled goat cheese, chopped strawberries and a handful of blueberries topped with Brianna's delicious poppyseed dressing
• a shot of wheatgrass!
• goat cheese, ripe figs and proscuitto
  Image via Wikipedia
• half a grapefruit, drizzled with honey, eaten with a spoon
• fruit leather (you know, the kind made with real fruit)
• a head of garlic, dribbled with olive oil, salted and then roasted until the skin is gold...eaten with the fingers 

Okay...now I'm slobbering. Awesome. Gotta get this baby printed off and then...I think I need a snack!