Lately we have been out in the woods in less than ideal conditions. We have been pushing the boundaries into the snowy season and the rainy season.This is on a different project than the Young Naturalist. It's an end-to-end hike on the Bruce Trail but is has made us notice that 1) the woods are lovely in all seasons and that 2) the perfect day can come unexpectedly.Today we went out to our study area in order to learn to identify trees by their twigs. This is a handy skill to have if you're into free range landscaping. It is always better to transplant in early spring or late fall but both seasons tend to leave us leaf-less. Already we know about bark, but the bark in young trees does not always resemble that of the older ones.
Above you see watercress. The Copeland Forest serves as the headwaters for hte Surgeon river and is also a watershed between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay. Watercress likes clear running water. Rumour has it that it makes good sandwiches.
Maple does flower. Then it leafs out. Here you see tiny new maple leaves, not yet masked by the green of chlorophyll. Remember, leaves are not actually green. When we see them as green it is because they are busy actively making food for the tree. The two twigs below are those of the Tamarack. This is the confused coniferous tree. It drops its needles in the late fall, turning an attractive yellow and then needles out again the spring. Tamarack likes wet earth. If you plant one of these make sure you're on a wetland.
Here we have apple leaves. The Copeland Forest was once farmed. There is quite a bit of apple out there. Apple is one of those trees easily recognizable by its shape. Whenever we found a young tree, Amanda looked for the mother tree. This is a handy trick to help you confirm your twig-sleuthing prowess. If there is no mother growing near then you probably have the wrong tree.
For instance, the next two pics are of Ironwood and Black Cherry.A defining feature of Black Cherry is that the twig looks like a pretzel (and the bark like a popular breakfast cereal). However, we could not see nay mother tress. What we saw was a lot of Ironwood mothers. Ironwood twigs also look like pretzels. Ironwood buds tend to lie at 45 degrees to the twig whereas Black Cherry buds tuck closer in to the twig. Once it leafs out, the Black Cherry has a distinctive red cast to its leaves. 
This is Black Ash. The leaf bud sits right at the top of the stem, sort of like an orb on a fairy wand.
To the right it is Birch. The bud of the Birch looks a bit like the leg of a chicken or the eye of a reptile. It is whorled and looks as though it could collapse back in on itself in case of hard frost. Young birch bark does not look at all like the adult product but birch buds are very distinctive.
Next up, Oak. What you look for in Oak is many small blobs. Again, here you can see last year's growth. It began down near the edge of the picture. That is where the buds would have formed last spring. 
To the right is Balsam Poplar. The scent of this one is quite nice. 
Last up, the Mighty Beech. Since the winter was mild, many of the Beech still have their leaves clinging to them. You will recall that if the Tamarack is confused then so also is the Beech. However, the new leaves are long, pointed and furled, like pieces of parchment or banners ready to fly for Midsummer. 
In addition to the trees, the understory is also poking up through the forest floor. To the right is the speckled foliage of the Trout Lily. This will send out yellow flowers more or less at the same time that the trillium blooms but the leaves do indeed look like fish.
http://eattheseasons.co.uk/Archive/watercress.htm
Is a link for info about watercress.
http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/smarty-plants-uncovering-the-secret-world-of-plant-behaviour.html
This is a link to a Nature of Things episode called "Smarty Plants" which talks about some pretty cool things science is learning about plant behaviour.
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