Plant identification

This post has two stories in it, and the first of them is really part two of a story I haven't told yet. But you'll just have to hear that one backwards.

I'm trying to identify a tree that we might want to plant in our yard (I'll explain the "why" we are looking for a new tree in a future post). As is usually the case, my source of inspiration is my own neighborhood.

This tree, not far from us, seems the epitome of what I'm looking for. Huge (well, obviously that takes a lot of time), paler green leaves that seem to let in lovely diffuse light, and interesting pale and dappled bark. The leaves are too high up for me to get a really good look and picture.

I'm pretty sure, however, that this tree in another part of town is the same tree (but smaller). So some close up pictures might help with the identification process:

I'm pretty sure this is a maple (the leaf makes me think of the Canadian flag) - can anyone confirm that? If that's the case, then I'll start doing research to see if maples are hearty enough for a black thumb like me.

Plant identification, second story. Yesterday afternoon I decided to do some weeding while forced to hang out outside with a toddler who seems immune to these hot, muggy days. I tried weeding around the holly bushes that were freed last fall when we had the back corner of our back yard cleared out.

And this is what I stumbled on. More than stumbled - repeatedly tore from the ground. Until a small thought dawned on me, a mostly forgotten rhyme..."leaves of three...".

Quick image search - yup, classic poison ivy.*** Fortunately I was wearing gloves. And I thought, at least, that I had kept the toddler  from touching any of it. After some truly OCD washing with Tecnu and some rubbing alcohol, I hoped I was safe (I'm updating this post 15 hours after contact, so I *think* it's safe).

I'm not quite sure what to do next, because it's not just in the mulched area under some bushes but in our grass. And instructions on how to eradicate it basically sound like practicing a scorched earth policy over years. D says he knows someone who just sprays the individual shoots with Roundup. I'm usually anti-herbicide, but I think I'll make an exception in this case. I see Roundup even makes one specifically for poison ivy.

Have you had any poison ivy run-ins lately? Any luck removing it? Or done any plant identification of your own? I'd love to hear about them.


***Edit: thanks to my lovely readers, I've since learned this is a blackberry bush and not poison ivy (and upon further reading, can verify that's true - this had tiny little thorns on it and poison ivy does not). However, we also assaulted it with heavy duty poison ivy killer so it probably has no chance of survival either way.