Friday
Jan282011
small stones: january 28
Friday, January 28, 2011 
Betula papyrifera, Cooper's Park, January 2011
Birch reaches for blue sky;
slender, pale arms stretch,
shed their papery skin,
reveal fresh, young bark.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Reader Comments (4)
Such an icy, wintery photo Elaine. I do love that pale blue colour in the background and the intense shine of the birch. Such a beautiful tree, does the shedding of the papery skin mean that spring is on its way?
I love birches for their bark and you ask such a good question, Kathryn. I don't know if the shedding only occurs at certain times of year. I will do some research and report back.
We have many trees which shed here. In fact we have a whole group of trees called paperbarks, which lose their outer coating of bark each year. It's beautiful to see the new, "perfect" bark underneath come through. I'm pretty sure, but not 100% sure that it happens at a certain time of the year. Indigenous people use the bark for all sorts of purposes - to make tools, vessels, "canvas" for artworks, etc.
I will definitely check out your paperbarks, Kathryn, and the ways the indigenous people used the bark. Sounds similar to how our native peoples used cedar and birch.