Birch Family
"Paper Birch  "Canoe Birch" "White Birch"
(Betula paprifera)

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.  Revelation 22:14 (NRSV)

 
         
In Autumn White Birch leaves turn yellow and then brown. 
            During the summer the larva of the Luna Moth may have been eating the green leaves.  Look for cocoons wrapped in leaves.  Pick them up and place them in a closed container where they can be kept cold and safe from predators during the winter.  In May or June a new, green moth will emerge, mate, and continue the cycle.
            In autumn the catkins of the White Birch Tree get ripe.  Look to see if birds are coming to eat the seeds.
            Look at the white, papery bark.  Young trees have dark trunks.  As they mature the dark bark peels off and the tree begins to look very white.  A cluster of “white-robed” trees looks beautiful among other hardwoods and conifers.
            Think of the “white robe” that covers us because of Jesus’ death on a tree for us.

Dear Lord,
            Thank you for covering us with your white robe of righteousness.  Thank you for forgiving us.  In your name we pray, Amen.