01/21/2026
Ivy (my dog, the very best girl) and I do a walk through the trails on the property at least once, but usually several, times every day. We loop around, or stop to check on a certain thing: Oh, the little creek froze over. Are the deer still sleeping in that new spot? There’s the spot where I found the blue-eyed grass; here’s where I saw one of only two little thimbleweed plants in this whole place.
The path to the back few acres passes a sycamore and cottonwood that were very small when we first moved here, five years ago. They’re a lot bigger now, of course, and this year I’ll probably have to do some tending to the area so they don’t get stunted - clear out a few encroaching buckthorn saplings and a spindly walnut or two (don’t worry; the walnut grove is going strong half an acre over), work on removing some thistle.
This is an ideal spot for these two trees. It’s a low point, an accidental (probably) swale created when the former owners worked the acres around it for corn or cows.
Today I noticed, though, that my sycamore is big enough now to start growing peeling bark! Just one little patch so far, but I am very proud. Little tree could have been outcompeted or succumbed to buck rub many seasons ago, but there it is growing up, looking fine. In mature trees, the bark sloughs off in oddly-shaped sheets. This bark is one of the most distinct physical characteristics of a , along with their seed heads that look like tight pom poms. When I was little, I would collect it when my parents took us hiking so I could draw on it later.
Another winter ID clue for sycamore is the stipule (last photo). These are like little protective collars around the leaf buds, protecting them against all sorts of things. Many trees that have , like tulip poplars, shed them as the bud breaks and the leaf grows. Sycamores retain lots of their stipules hanging like little collars around their twiggier branches. They aren’t fixed in place - you can move them around, or take them off. We have loads of sycamore (look along the rivers and creeks) here - let me know if you spot some pom poms or peeling bark! 🙂
