A white birch tree with a birchbark basket of flowers nestled in it. (Karen Wils photo)

The golden curly bark of the yellow birch tree. (Karen Wils photo)

Karen Rose Wils

ESCANABA — Two country cousins stand by the river.

They are tall, strong and handsome and have called Upper Michigan home for many years.

The autumn sunrise paints their leaves warm yellow, amber and bronze.

Chickadees and nuthatches chirp and roam the curly and smooth bark and rest in the branches.

One of the cousins is bold and outgoing. Like a movie star, he likes to be in pictures. The older taller cousin is not so flashy but a pillar of the woodland community.

The white birch is the famous one in this forest family. Many books, brochures, maps and magazines about the north woods feature a lovely stand of whit

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