By spring the ground at the base of the tree looked like a chipper had been emptied. A birch, located kitty corner across the path, had been dead for years, home to fungi and insects. But both trees had begun to lose branches and because of proximity to the path were a danger to people and canines, so we decided to have them taken down. All through its life, a tree is the center of a variety of wildlife. Amazingly, trees grow from tiny seeds.
Hemlocks produce cones that encase the paper-thin seeds.
Birch produce catkins that develop into a long strand of seeds. Some of the seeds take root and begin the long journey to maturity. Deer and moose browse branches. Squirrels and chipmunks feast on the fruits. This summer I watched a chipmunk inch its way out onto a skinny branch of a sapling to reach the dangling catkin.