Delight

We expect the bark of birch trees to curl and peel, that’s part of the secret of identifying them. Yet, to my eye, this particular tree brings some of what we expect of a birch tree, along with some unusual coloring. It’s just enough to signal that we are looking at something slightly to the side of what we expect.

 Indeed, this is the bark of a Dahurian birch, which also goes by the name of Asian black birch. It is native to China, Japan, Korea, and it also grows a bit closer to home, in the Arnold Arboretum. Upon first encountering this tree, it was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Familiar: curling and peeling bark; unfamiliar: colors of bark and trunk.

 I love the unexpected elements, the slightly disjointed sense that what I’m seeing is just to the side of what I was used to. It forces me to look again, look more deeply. And that’s always a joyous exercise!