Post 3
The trail begins to straighten out as you enter the less densely packed woods. Kep an eye out for seasonal wildflowers here in the spring. The web site iNaturalist.org can help you identify species and connect with other people interested in nature. Pine trees begin to flourish in this area as well as more oak trees. You may notice termites or ants that have begun to eat away at some of the trees. These are valuable food resources for native birds. More animals begin to pop up; blue jay and squirrels fly and hop between the branches and you may even hear one chirp.
Several of the trees in front of you are bigtooth aspen trees, or Populus grandidentata. The base of this tree has the appearance of a pine, whereas the top looks like a white birch. The leaves on this tree, as the name implies, are fairly big with large irregular teeth on the edges. This tree grows relatively quickly, with an average lifespan of approximately 70 years. Because of its quick growth, the big-tooth aspen becomes a pioneer species that quickly dominates the area after a disturbance, such as a fire. However, if there is a prolonged absence of a major disturbance, other trees will replace aspens. This is because the bigtooth aspen needs much sunlight to grow, and other more shade tolerant trees can overtake the area.