I first started reading up on #bonsai culture in my mid 20's [ 90's ]

I managed to start a 'stock' garden once, but, a relationship breakup left me with dead sticks. 6 years ago I started my stock garden again.

The 'king' of my collection is a wild collected 4 leaf sapling that I grew in an only wooden drawer, messed up the first wiring, poisioned the Tree with uncoated copper wire.

It is called 'Slide down a mountain'. #slide [ because when you are clinging to a mointain top for your llfe some times you just have to admit you are going to let things slide some times ]

I managed to save it from the copper only to have it have a massive die-back 2 summers ago.

Now it has bounced back after all this torture and lasted until I have found a permanent home for my collection I have started the training.

Dead wood removed it it officially a Bonsai. At 7 years old this #betulaPendual should be over 7 feet tall. It stands less than 8 inches to that stump top that I will later make a #jin [ 1 ]

I am so pleased to see the leaves reducing in size, in the next year this tree will get a glazed pot and full traing with the proper wire ;-)

1 - A "Jin" is a bare-stripped part of branch and a "Shari" is a barkless part of trunk. In nature, deadwood is created when a tree is hit by lightning, exposed to sustained periods of drought or when branches snap due to ice stress, wind or weight of snow. The wood dies off and is bleached by intense sunlight.