By the end of winter, Stacey and I -and many others in western Pennsylvania- are anxious for that first sunny day to go into the woods and look for spring, sensationally announced by wildflowers, and flowering trees.

Two-stem tulip trees are fairly common in Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests where tulip trees are dominant. Three-stem tulip trees are less common. But the rare four-stem tulip tree is a sight to behold.

Kevin’s latest book, Near Woods: A Year in an Allegheny Forest, is available from the publisher, Rowman & Littlefield (Stackpole Books), on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and numerous independent online book sellers.