American Sycamore in winter

Thursday
Today was a cool but sunny day. We had choir practice this morning at church. We had a new piece for Sunday morning, but fortunately it’s quite straightforward, mainly unison, with a descant part in the last section. Early afternoon we both went for a swim at the fitness center. After that, since it was so nice and sunny, we went for a walk at nearby Glenwood Gardens. We didn’t do the full loop, just the inner one, which on top of 40 lengths swimming, was enough for me. I took several photos, though just on my phone, but I finally went with these shots of the American Sycamore tree, Platanus occidentalis, with its little brown balls of fruit, looking a bit like Christmas ornaments. It may also be referred to as American Planetree, Western Planetree, Occidental Planetree or Buttonwood. The sycamore is quite distinctive by its mottled bark which flakes off in large irregular masses, leaving the surface mottled and gray, greenish-white and brown. The bark of all trees has to yield to a growing trunk by stretching, splitting, or infilling, but sycamore bark is more rigid and less elastic than the bark of other trees, so to accommodate the growth of the wood underneath, the tree sheds it in large, brittle pieces. The upper branches of the tree will often be almost white.
Later in the afternoon I got some more ironing done, and this evening I’ll do some knitting.