July 11, 2026

July with Jeff , sign-up here --> link

Meet at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We will walk for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market. (In fact, you can park near the end and walk to Inman Perc...if you want to end the tour near your car

June 13, 2026

 This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
What a great group with which to spend a World Cup Saturday…Atlantans! Trans”plants” from Charleston! Green shirt volunteers! Milo the dog! I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

Pic of the week...
...is one of the many examples of street art along the Beltline…this one depicting Kevin!  It’s been painted over, but worth a repost!! Everyone in the Beltline “community” knows Kevin, an amazing person who exemplifies how simple kindness and enthusiasm can be so uplifting and infectious. Be more Kevin!

Tree of the week...
...is a Trees Atlanta favorite we are proud to have in our front yard; Cherrybark oak.

Originally thought to be a sub species of southern red oak, this tree is celebrated for its fast growth, strong wood, and gorgeous fall leaves. The Latin name “pagoda” refers to the tiered shape of the lobed leaves.

Cherrybark Oak

 Quercus pagoda

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Lobed leaves, green unripe fruit, Hawthorne?

Q: “What tree is that? (Along the spur trail from the Beltline to Freedom Park).

A:Short answer…I’m not sure! The tip pic is from the inter webs, the bottom out of focus is mine. I’m going to have to research this further, but will drop this link right here for future reference. Quite a “stump”! .

March 28, 2026

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
There goes March…out like a lion! Neighbors and Chicago in the house! 

Spreadsheet of the week...
...is just the result of one of the many rabbit holes I was inspired to go down when reading “How To Do Nothing”, by Jenny Odell. Phenology is the study of annual cycles of animals and plants (migration, flowering, egg->larva->adult insect forms). Learning that, I started putting together a chart of pollinating insect adult lifecycle (+) vs native plant flowering times (0). Where they overlap, pollination happens  

"Shoutout" of the week...
...goes to Trees Atlanta for its development and ongoing conservation of 13 miles of trees, shrubs, native grasses, and flowers along the Atlanta Beltline, officially the world’s longest linear arboretum!

Exciting news!

February 14, 2026

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
Happy Valentine’s Day! The gang really showed up on this beautiful winter day! Zoo besties! Environmental student and professionals!  Well behaved pup! Kansas City in the house!

Book of the week...
...is just one of the many sources of inspiration for my tour; “How To Do Nothing”, by Jenny Odell. Many gems about how to slow down and really be a part of the world around you, but the author really got me with one of the opening statements: “could augmented reality simply mean putting your phone down?”

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

The artist David Landis

Q: Jeff incorrectly described the David Landis’ Beltline sculpture as “southern white rhino”.  That’s not quite right..

A: The sculpture, one of many by the artist throughout Atlanta, represents the northern white rhino. More on rhinos from Zoo Atlanta (thanks, Michelle!). 

“The Northern sub species of white rhino has only two individuals today, making their population functionally extinct. The southern white rhino, however, is considered a conservation success story. Considered extinct for much of the late 19th century, A small population was discovered in southern Africa In 1895. A century of conservation efforts followed and there are now an estimated 20,000 individuals in the wild today.”

January 10, 2026

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
What a great group! Tech students! Curious Atlantans! And grandma’s 75th birthday! Happy Birthday!  I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

Book of the week...
...is just one of the many sources of inspiration for my tour; “The Light Eaters”, by Zoë Schlesinger. “How The Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers à New Understanding of Life on Earth.”  And if you live on Earth, like I do, boy will you find this fascinating! And it answers the question Jeff “stumped” himself with during the tour (see below).

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Diagram of transpiration (thanks, wiki)

Q: Jeff mentioned “transpiration”, the process by which trees bring water up from the soil by releasing water through their leaves. What happens during the winter, when trees have dropped their leaves (through abscission)?

…and holy moly, so many related questions; is water still moving thru the trees xylem? Why doesn’t the water freeze? If it does freeze, why doesn’t the water burst open the tree like frozen pipes in a home? 

A: The short answer? Mostly no… and also, trees are clever.

Without leaves, transpiration largely shuts down, so water movement slows way down. Some water does freeze—but trees are built for that. Water can freeze between cells, or squeeze into cells without causing damage. Unlike your home’s rigid pipes, tree tissues are flexible and well-insulated, so they bend instead of bursting.

Nature: still undefeated.

November 2, 2025

 This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
What a great group of new and OG Atlantans, in one case someone I’d met a the previous day’s Fernbank Forest tour! I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

Pic of the week...
...is just one of the many examples of street art along the Beltline…this one depicting Kevin! Everyone in the Beltline “community” knows Kevin, an amazing person who exemplifies how simple kindness and enthusiasm can be so uplifting and infectious. Be more Kevin!

Tree of the week...
...is a Trees Atlanta favorite we are proud to have in our front yard; Cherrybark oak.

Originally thought to be a sub species of southern red oak, this tree is celebrated for its fast growth, strong wood, and gorgeous fall leaves. The Latin name “pagoda” refers to the tiered shape of the lobed leaves.

Cherrybark Oak

 Quercus pagoda

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Super craggy bark (with bird nests) of a Douglas fir

Q: Trees have many forms of bark and that form can change as trees mature. Beech and Tulip Poplars both start with similar, smooth bark, but that definitely is not the case in older trees!

A: Both tulip poplars and American beeches begin life with thin, smooth bark, but they age quite differently due to bark elasticity. The tulip poplar’s bark loses flexibility as the tree rapidly grows in girth, forcing it to crack and form deep ridges that accommodate expansion. In contrast, the American beech maintains highly elastic, slow-growing bark that stretches instead of splitting, allowing it to stay smooth for decades. This difference reflects each tree’s growth rate and strategy: the tulip poplar prioritizes speed and height, while the beech invests in longevity and resilience. The result is a striking contrast—two smooth saplings that mature into entirely different textures over time.

October 11, 2025

 This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
What a great group of Atlantans..and repeat tour takers! I hope I earned the privilege of your time….again!

Pic of the week...
...is just more street art on the Freedom Parkway overpass. 

Tree of the week...
...is an Atlanta native not on the Eastside trail (yet!), but being from the PNW, I love a connection.

American hophornbeam! Okay, you can’t brew an IPA from these flowers, but they sure look hoppy. And I was today years old when I found out those “hops” are the result of the flower developing into a “nutlet” surrounded by a papery sac called “involucre”. 

American Hophornbeam

 Ostrya virginiana

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Prunus serotina

Q: We see non-native, fruiting cherry trees along the Beltline (not planted by Trees Atlanta); are there any species of cherry tree native to the eastern U.S.?

A: Sort of! Folks from the western U.S. might be familiar with "Rainier" cherries (Prunus avium), "a premium type of cherry...sweet with a thin skin and thick creamy-yellow flesh." It is a cultivar that is grafted to rootstock of the wild Prunus avium, native to Eurasia. 

So the long answer is: there isn't a cherry similar to "Rainier" that is native to Atlanta, but being a grafted cultivar, "Rainier" itself isn't native to anywhere! But there is a type of "cherry" native to our region; Prunus serotina. But - and this is an even BIGGER BUT - despite its common name, it is not very closely related to commonly cultivated cherries. It does fruit, it does support hundreds of native species, and it can be VERY invasive...so be very careful when introducing a native "cherry" to our ecosystem

August 9, 2025

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
What a great group of Atlantans (and nearly Atlantans…Fairburn in the house! Happy 3 years together!). I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

Pic of the week...
...is actually me "stumping" for a podcast!!

Completely Arbortrary is a great resource for all things tree. It's just 2 guys that love trees and hope you want to listen. This episode - "All Trees Go To Heaven (American Beech)" - partially inspired some of this month's tour content. 

Tree of the week...
...is going to be a repost of ALL OF THEM.

One of our intrepid tourists was interested specifically in growing her tree identification knowledge. It can be tough during the winter, since leaves are such an integral part of identification, but here is the list of the trees I pointed out along the trail:

• Fringe trees (Chionanthus retusus)
• Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia)
• Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)
• Cathedral live oak (Quercus virginiana)
• Georgia oak (Quercus georgiana)
• American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
• Sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima, non-native)
• Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
• Pignut hickory (Carya glabra)
• Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica..not sweet gum...ew)
• Lots of oaks (genus Quercus), including white swamp, southern red, chinquapin
• Carolina and Canada Hemlocks (Tsuga caroliniana and canadensis)
• Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
• Southern red oak (Quercus falcata)
• Scarlett oak (Quercus coccinea...remember Cochineal bugs...a source of red dye)
• - ...and then oak hill with all 33 native oak species

...and follow this link to Trees Atlanta's "Interactive Tree Inventory Map" to see them all!

Pignut Hickory

 Carya glabra

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Prunus serotina

Q: We see non-native, fruiting cherry trees along the Beltline (not planted by Trees Atlanta); are there any species of cherry tree native to the eastern U.S.?

A: Sort of! Folks from the western U.S. might be familiar with "Rainier" cherries (Prunus avium), "a premium type of cherry...sweet with a thin skin and thick creamy-yellow flesh." It is a cultivar that is grafted to rootstock of the wild Prunus avium, native to Eurasia. 

So the long answer is: there isn't a cherry similar to "Rainier" that is native to Atlanta, but being a grafted cultivar, "Rainier" itself isn't native to anywhere! But there is a type of "cherry" native to our region; Prunus serotina. But - and this is an even BIGGER BUT - despite its common name, it is not very closely related to commonly cultivated cherries. It does fruit, it does support hundreds of native species, and it can be VERY invasive...so be very careful when introducing a native "cherry" to our ecosystem.

July 26, 2025

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
What a great group of Atlantans (and nearly Atlantans). I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

May 18, 2025

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We spent 90 minutes together, the majority of which was a great discussion of history, urban tree management, and weather while waiting out a deluge under the Freedom Parkway bridge!

"The Tourists"...
What a great group! Braved the downpour! I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

April 12, 2025

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
What a great group! Braved the brisk spring weather! Especially those Florida transplants! I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

Thanks for a great tour!

Pic of the week...
...is a tree that’s easy to “love”…one of many with “heart” shaped leaves…the American basswood or linden.

The American basswood is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree reaching a height of 18 to 37 m (60 to 120 ft) exceptionally 39 m (128 ft) with a trunk diameter of 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) at maturity. It grows faster than many North American hardwoods, often twice the annual growth rate of American beech and many birch species. Life expectancy is around 200 years, with flowering and seeding generally occurring between 15 and 100 years, though occasionally seed production may start as early as eight years

Thanks, Wiki!!

Tree of the week...
...is going to be ALL OF THEM.

One of our intrepid tourists was interested specifically in growing her tree identification knowledge. It can be tough during the winter, since leaves are such an integral part of identification, but here is the list of the trees I pointed out along the trail:

• Fringe trees (Chionanthus retusus)
• Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia)
• Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)
• Cathedral live oak (Quercus virginiana)
• Georgia oak (Quercus georgiana)
• American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
• Sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima, non-native)
• Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
• Pignut hickory (Carya glabra)
• Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica..not sweet gum...ew)
• Lots of oaks (genus Quercus), including white swamp, southern red, chinquapin
• Carolina and Canada Hemlocks (Tsuga caroliniana and canadensis)
• Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
• Southern red oak (Quercus falcata)
• Scarlett oak (Quercus coccinea...remember Cochineal bugs...a source of red dye)
• - ...and then oak hill with all 33 native oak species

...and follow this link to Trees Atlanta's "Interactive Tree Inventory Map" to see them all!

Pignut Hickory

 Carya glabra

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Stone Mountain, Georgia

Q1: What is the etymology of the word monadnock?

A1: From the name of Mount Monadnock in New England, which derives from an Abenaki word, perhaps menonadenak, menonadenek (“smooth mountain”) or menadenak, menadenek (“isolated mountain”),[1] from aden (“mountain”)

Q2: Great…then what is “Abenaki”?

A2: Western Abenaki was spoken in New Hampshire, Vermont, north-western Massachusetts, and southern Quebec.[4] Odanak, Quebec is a First Nations reserve located near the Saint-François River—these peoples were referred to as Saint Francis Indians by English writers after the 1700s.[5] The few remaining speakers of Western Abenaki live predominantly in Odanak and the last fully fluent speaker, Cécile (Wawanolett) Joubert died in 2006.[4] A revitalization effort was started in Odanak in 1994; however, as of 2004 younger generations are not learning the language and the remaining speakers are elderly, making Western Abenaki nearly extinct.[6]

Eastern Abenaki languages are spoken by several peoples, including the Penobscot of what is now Maine. The last known natively fluent speaker of Penobscot Abenaki, Madeline Shay, died in 1993.[7][8] However, several Penobscot elders still speak Penobscot, and there is an ongoing effort to preserve it and teach it in the local schools;[9] much of the language was preserved by Frank Siebert.[10] Other speakers of Eastern Abenaki included tribes such as the Amoscocongon who spoke the Arosagunticook dialect,[11] and the Caniba, which are documented in French-language materials from the colonial period.

February 8, 2025

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
A beautiful day for a Beltline tour with folks from Tampa, Boston, and all over Georgia...including recent Atlanta arrivals! Welcome to the ATL!!!

SEVERE WEATHER CANCELLATION!!!! January 11, 2025...Happy New Year

 

December 14, 2024

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
A beautiful day for a Beltline tour with folks from all over Georgia...including a recent New York transplant, a returning/repeat Beltline enthusiast, and my mom!

Thanks for a great tour!

More cool tour-related stuff!

As we approached the massive art piece  "Wake" near the Fourth Ward Skatepark, I was trying to geek out on the meta-ness of it all - that this sculpture represents a ship and figurehead that represented the famous opera singer Jenny Lind and that we might be more familiar with as a character in the Hugh Jackman musical "The Greatest Showman"...all of which represent different types of mass marketing...but my brain completely blanked. Below is a  better description of the art itself.

"Wake is a large-scale installation modeled on the structural ribs of the nineteenth-century clipper ship U.S.S. Nightingale that rise up from the ground and frame a 21-foot-tall figurative sculpture. The carved sculpture, derived from a figurehead on the prow of the Nightingale, represents the opera singer Jenny Lind. Lind, the first international “superstar” to tour America from 1850-1852, was a spectacle orchestrated by P.T. Barnum and is considered one of the first examples of mass marketing. Subtle animatronic motions allow her to slowly breathe and scan the sky, adding a contemporary upgrade. The Nightingale clipper ship was captured by the Union Army in 186o, ending an attempt to transport enslaved Africans. Specifically for its Atlanta presentation, the figurehead casts her gaze toward 501 Auburn Avenue, the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Wake forms a quiet space for the public to consider the past and future. This work was originally installed in Times Square in New York in 2018."

November 10, 2024

 This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
A beautiful day for a Beltline tour with folks from all over Georgia!

October 12, 2024

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
A beautiful day for a Beltline tour with folks from all over Georgia!

September 14, 2024

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday near the old Parrish location on the trail. We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
A beautiful day for a Beltline tour with folks from all over Georgia!

Thanks for a great tour!

More cool tour-related stuff!

You might not know it based on Jeff's rambling stories during the tour, but a lot of web and book research goes into those stories! One of those books is "Beaverland".

We talk a little during the tour about watersheds, including how the flow of water influenced development along the west side of the trail, from the mid 1800's and "Ponce Springs", to the early 1900's with the Ponce de Leon Amusement Park, to the oft-flooded Sears and Roebuck warehouse in the 1920's, and then the 21st century and Old Fourth Ward Park as we know it today. 

BUT...if you think that influencing the local landscape thru tree removal and water management started with human projects like those, then check out "Beaverland" by Leila Philip. Since reading this book, I look at water and related wildlife in a completely different way. The idiom "Busy as a beaver" is no small compliment!

August - No tour with Jeff...it's too hot!

July 13, 2024

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
A beautiful day for a Beltline tour with folks from all over Georgia!

Thanks for a great tour!

More cool tour-related stuff!

Amazing community resources don't just happen...it takes money, time, and heart! Read about how the Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail Skate Park came to be! Thomas Taylor Memorial Skatepark

June 1, 2024

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
A beautiful day for a Beltline tour with folks from all over Georgia!

Thanks for a great tour!