Arboretum

After a not-so-long nap, Owen was cranky this afternoon, so I got some beet soup started on the stove and we went over to the Tanger Arboretum for a bit to get some fresh air and a little sunshine. This is our second trip to look at the trees in the last couple of weeks. Owen has gotten interested in trees and likes to ask about them lately, so it's nice to have a free place close by to look at lots of different ones. It is a great place for Owen to walk on his own, and a different pace from the playground.
Tanger Arboretum is nearby on the grounds of the Lancaster Historical Society, and has been dubbed "the second finest arboretum in Lancaster County." While Lancaster County is well-known for its small farms and Amish population, as far as I know, it is not known for having fine arboreta, so I doubt the distinction of second finest is much to brag about. Still, it is perfect for a quick walk before dinner.
Before we even crossed the street to the arboretum, Owen pointed out the very large sugar maple.
We had looked at it before, and it is by far the largest and most prominent tree in yard. But I was still rather proud that he did it with no prompting from me. He likes to talk about making maple sugar from it, but alas it is not ours and we'd need a whole lot more of them.

He was very impressed (I was too) with the large scarlet oak that had been cut down recently. The stump was about 5 feet in diameter, and it didn't appear to be rotten or diseased. We're not sure why it was cut down.???
They have several young American Chestnuts that are bearing right now.
Owen can reliably identify crabapple trees when they are full of fruit. He is still not satisfied that they have nothing to do with crabs.