Cut a tree and the end grain is a calendar: one ring, one year, all the way back to the seed. Six trees are counted below. Every year of every tree gets a note — some about the maker, some about Winnipeg and Manitoba, some about the world that kept turning while the tree stood still. The maker's own rings run through all of them: born in Rhodesia, grown in Cape Town, seasoned in London and Taipei, planted for good in Winnipeg.
The Victoria Beach birch
Betula · grew a short walk from Lake Winnipeg · estimated ~40 rings, 1985–2026
Count is my estimate from the end grain — lakeside birch grows slow and tight. Correct me with one number and the whole table shifts.
Touch a ring — the outermost is the year the tree came down.
The Tuxedo willow
Salix · a Tuxedo yard tree in a hurry · estimated ~35 rings, 1991–2026
Willows sprint — wide rings, big trunk, shorter story. Estimated from the fresh cut; correct me with one number.
Touch a ring — the outermost is the year the tree came down.
The River Road ash
Fraxinus · River Road, St. Vital · estimated ~55 rings, 1970–2026
Green ash, slow and dense, weathered grey on the end. Estimate from the ridge lines; correct me with one number.
Touch a ring — the outermost is the year the tree came down.
The Île-des-Chênes maple
Acer · Île-des-Chênes veteran, hollow at the heart · ~65 rings, 1960–2026 — its earliest years are lost to the hollow
The heart rotted out long ago, so the first rings are gone with it. The span below starts where the wood still remembers; the tree itself is older than its own record.
Touch a ring — the outermost is the year the tree came down.
The River Park South cherry
Prunus · a River Park South yard · estimated ~30 rings, 1996–2026
Dark, burled end grain — the count is my estimate; correct me with one number.
Touch a ring — the outermost is the year the tree came down.
The River Park South apple
Malus · the original preview tree · placeholder count: 38 rings, 1988–2025
The tree that started this page — count still to be confirmed off the end grain film.
Touch a ring — the outermost is the year the tree came down.
