On a brilliant sunny January day, we met at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia, for our Can't See the Forest for the Trees Hike. One of our members, a naturalist, led us on a fascinating walk through the woods and taught us how to identify trees in winter using clues such as patterns in the bark, trunk shape, branching structure, fallen nuts and many other natural signs.
Starting along a creek bed, we first identified trees that don't mind wet feet. From there we moved upland and found oaks of many colors - white, red, scarlet. Like all good students, we asked lots of questions and quizzed each other along the way.
The little waterfalls at the end of the hike provided the perfect spot to enjoy what we learned.