Though I have strolled past Dawn Redwood a couple of times this month, I hadn’t really noticed any change in her, until today – and then it was only when I was reviewing this afternoon’s photos and zoomed in on one or two. Note to self: next time, choose a shorter tree to follow, the better to see what’s happening up top – because it’s at the top of the tree that all the action is happening.

Not only is Dawn still carrying last season’s cones up there, she also still has more of a flush of this spring’s flowers higher up and, at the very top, the green of this year’s foliage is just beginning to burst out. I find each of these things surprising – the cones and the flowers because the top of the tree must be the most windblown so I’d have expected both to have been blown off more at the top than lower down the tree, and the budding foliage because I thought the tree would green from the bottom as the sap rose upwards with the warmer weather.

This is exactly why following a tree is so very interesting. The more closely you look, the more you see and learn.

Why not join the tree following community. You can find out more here.