Crown Hill Zelkovas

 

10/17/22 Crown Hill neighborhood

For several blocks on Crown Hill, Zelkova trees grow in the center divide of Eighth Northwest. I’m always amused by how squared off they look on the street side where they have been “pruned” naturally by buses that whip by them repeatedly. I wish I could sketch them from the driving lane itself, which offers the best view of their odd shape. Though the afternoon was warm enough that I could have sketched from the sidewalk, I stayed in my car, where the view from the parking lane is second-best.

These Zelkovas are not always a stop on my leaf-peeping tour because they tend to fully color late in the season when it’s wet. This year, however, they seem to be later than ever, probably due to our wacky warm fall. I thought by mid-October they would certainly have more color than this (see my sketch from October 2015, sketched with ink for InkTober, no less). A few trees were turning, and I picked the brightest to sketch.