The end of this month marks the deadline for submitting the manuscript for my tree identification guide, and it simultaneously can’t come fast enough and is coming too fast.
It’s been an interesting last few weeks for me, it always seems like everything happens at once, whether good, bad, or just a new big thing. One big one on the professional side that happened last week is that I’ve finished the first draft of my forthcoming tree identification guide, which is very exciting, so I couldn’t wait to share.
(You’ll notice, dear reader, that I am presently writing to you, which speaks to the amount of pressure that I feel has been relieved, allowing me to type out other things rather than descriptions of trees and how to tell them apart. I almost forgot how.)
To celebrate, here’s what I’ve spent countless hours and brain power on over the last 8 or so months:
Building profiles (to one degree or another) of 336 different species of trees that are commonly found (to one degree or another) in the Greater Pacific Northwest including how to identify them, where you’re likely to find them (or perhaps where you won’t find them), and how to tell them from their lookalikes.
81 different species of conifers
254 different species of broadleaf trees
I’ve photographed the important parts of each and every tree through the seasons, including their twigs, their bark, their leaves, their flowers, their fruit, and their form, along with unique traits that are important like hairs or leaf edges, etc.
I’ve had some wonderful help from some colleagues I met at the University of Anchorage last year in gathering some photos of trees up there.
I’ve had some wonderful help from colleagues and friends who have graciously helped tell me when things are blooming or sent me some photos they sweetly provided.
I’ve double-checked and edited my work, and spent days scouring the city streets and parks for trees to make sure they actually exist around here, and to see if I got things right…and I think mostly have…
Did you know we have three species of serviceberry around here? Did you know they are insanely hard to tell apart? Yea, me neither until a few months ago.
Did you know that white fir (Abies concolor), strictly speaking, doesn’t *really* grow in Oregon natively? That was a tough case that was…
Did you know that the weeping willow is a complex knot of a Gordian type that will cause you nothing but pain and sorrow (which ironically it can help treat as it’s the source of aspirin)?
Did you know that there’s a little-known species of walnut from Northern California called the Hinds walnut (Juglans hindsii) that has been hybridized with the black and English walnuts to make the Paradox and Royal walnuts, respectively, and they are basically impossible to tell apart but they’re apparently everywhere? Yea. Me neither. Great.
My god, has it been a challenge. A fun one, but a big one. For example, I had to learn what separates the southern catalpa from the northern, and which cherry tree blooms when and how to tell them apart when they’re not blooming (or without any leaves at all). I had to figure out what species of chestnut we have all over the place, and which spruces are actually around here and which are just figments of the collective imaginations of wishful tree spotters. It turns out everything is still complicated and hard to wade through, even when you spent years and years at it and you think you’re pretty good. Ha!
The good news is, it’s all written down now, and I’m confident that my trials and efforts will ultimately be the sacrifice required so that anyone who picks up a copy of the guide when it comes out can effortlessly glide through their cities and towns and name trees at their leisure: all the sorting and figuring will be taken care of.
My friend Ryan Gilpin, a local arborist, bird enthusiast, and all around good fella, asked me on one particular evening while us arborists were getting together for a casual happy hour, “Do you regret pitching your idea by now?” It was a good question: I was exhausted at that moment, and it was clear on my face that I had been staring at a computer for too many hours that day. The spirit of it was of course jovial, like asking if you regret taking on that 30 mile hike when you’re blistered feet scoot past mile 25 and your body, in that wordless way it does, registers its protests that you’re still going.
Despite my drooping eyes and feelings of ‘what did I get myself into’, though, I confidently replied no. The reason I could reply that I’m still quite satisfied with asking for this project is that I am still quite confident that it’s going to be good. I don’t want to sound too ‘tooting my own flute’ about it, but the further along I get, the more I feel the importance and usefulness of it. There really isn’t anything quite like it out there, and if you know me, you know that I do not do half measures well and I almost insist on precision when it comes to tree things because details matter. This book is a reflection of that as much as it is a reflection of my unique view of trees and my excitement for looking at them.
Truly, I am proud of how much I’ve learned during this process and I am very excited to share it with you all, though it’s classic type two fun. You know what I mean, right? Type one fun is fun while you do it and afterwards, like playing games with your friends at a park. Type two fun isn’t always super great when you’re doing it, but you look back on it with great joy and yearn to do it again, like an intense bike ride or hike that has a few thousand feet of elevation over not enough miles. This is a hard right now, but I am already looking back on it fondly.
I wanted to close by saying thank you to everyone who has supported me, either financially, through the podcast, or by other means. The generosity of my community—you—is constantly uplifting and astonishing. It truly helps a lot and keeps me going when things are tough or seem daunting. I never quite imagined how I could make a living based on my passions and hopes and dreams, but it feel closer and closer every day because of all you. So, if you’re looking to continue that, then just stick around!
As always, any financial support goes a long way, and if things work out, then I have a few other projects on my wish list that could get moved into reality with your help. I’ll give some spoilers over the next few months as I see what’s possible, but know that if you’re looking to support it’ll get put towards some cool stuff.