Tulip Tree

We have quite a few trees on our lot, but we have one that is quite unique. It's called a Tulip Tree, or Liriodendron, and from what I understand, it's very rare to have one in this area. According to Wikipedia, these trees are common in Eastern North America, so finding one in the Midwest is pretty uncommon. The flower you see is all over the tree, but mostly in the higher branches. They bloom about this time every year, but like the tulips it's named after, they never last long. The first time we noticed the flowers was in our first spring living here. I was mowing the grass, and a low branch was really needing to be trimmed back. I pushed the mower towards the tree, reached up to move the branch aside, and found myself looking directly at one of these flowers. It was a pretty cool discovery.