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The oak is always late coming into leaf, but when it does, and the leaves are fresh, and young, and bright green, it is one of the most beautiful trees in the forest.
@RickGaehl oak and Ash, the last ones. I have two very mature Ash trees and looks like they've escaped any disease for the moment but die back is rampant.
@JohnLoader6
It's bad here too. I always preferred the oak to the ash though - they may come into leaf at about the same time, but ash is also one of the earliest to shed, whereas oak is one of the latest.
@RickGaehl We get loads of tiny ash seedlings but I do nurture the oak ones and just donated two to a local nature reserve. two more developing in the garden and I'll be long dead before they cause any problem to anyone. Our Walnut gets leaves about the same time as the ashes.
@JohnLoader6
I planted a whole bunch of acorns from the big tree in our hedge last autumn, into pots, and they're coming up really well.
@RickGaehl The Oak-Green is indeed the most beautiful green in the garden 
I have oak at my elevation of 9,400 ft in the mountains of southern New Mexico.
Up here, oak never become more than a bush about 15 or 20 ft tall. The leaves are small.
Oak leaves appear to be very waxy compared to other leaves. That makes them very shiny, with lots of glare. I find it a challenge to photograph oak leaves because of that glare. It reduces the saturation of the green leaves and makes them less interesting.
@KrajciTom That's fascinating. I've always thought of the leaves more as leathery than waxy, but I know what you mean. When the leaves are young though, and still translucent, they can look really stunning in a photo.
Up here I often overlook oak because this is the upper edge of their habitable zone. They don't thrive, they hang on.
But aspen...ahhhhh! This is where they thrive and it shows.
@KrajciTom
Ah, I love aspen too. We've got a quaking aspen in the garden, but you really need video footage to enjoy its full effect.
I love to shoot aspen when they first put out leaves, and when they turn gold/orange.
When the sunlight is behind the leaves, they show the most striking light.
@RickGaehl Amen! It's also a host plant for a huge number of native species, and major part of the food web.
@briankrebs
Indeed! Oak could well be the keystone species for the entire temperate, deciduous forest biome.
@RickGaehl
I really like the stage just before as well, when the bud-burst gives the tree a bronze glow 
