I’m clearing and cutting in the woods, doing trail maintenance behind my house in the Catskills. Some shoots in the path are three feet high which tells you how long it’s been since I’ve done this. Beech trees grow up from the roots that extend across the path, and some of the original trees may have already died. This is the way beeches prolong their life. They find a patch of sun and the meristem (basically the “stem cells” of plants), dormant for many years can shoot up and create a whole new tree. Or not a new tree but the same tree in a different location. When I’m with 12-year-olds, I call them, “Sons of beeches.” They’ll never forget, and maybe think plants aren’t so boring after all.