With Williams Creek being the eastern boundary of our yard, we have numerous native trees along the banks. Willows are the most common, and since they grow quickly and constantly have to be pruned or they fall down, they provide an endless supply of firewood. Alders and cottonwoods are the two other main trees that make up our forest.

Red Alder Tree

(Alnus rubra) – These are prolific seeders in our backyard, this year especially so. I’ve been picking little seedlings out from all over the yard. The biggest one in our backyard is now about 25-30ft tall, and it was about 10 years ago I let it grow when I discovered it as a sapling, back when we still had the fence in the back yard, which it was growing through. Their seed pods resemble miniature sized pine cones.

Pussy Willow Tree

(Salix discolor) – These are the most common trees on the river bank and the empty lot north of our house. They are the main hosts for the sawflies and tent moths.

Black Cottonwood Tree

(Populus trichocarpa) – We used to have a couple of really tall examples of these trees directly behind our house on the other side of the creek bank. But one died and the owners cut it down, the other gradually leaned over at a precarious angle until it finally uprooted in a storm and fell over. I still see cottonwood seeds blowing around in the spring, but I didn’t locate any trees in our yard when I went looking for them in July 2019.