Paper Birch - one of my favorite trees. It keeps us warm ....we heat our house with wood. Lovely to look at in all seasons. But it is not a hardy tree and I see a lot of our birch dying.

Johnson Heritage Post in our town had an exhibit a few years ago on Birch, the Giving Tree. I have pictures at http://www.pbase.com/extra_yl/birch_2&page=all if you are interested.