Big basswood?

[WDH]

Clark,

First time that I have heard of it too.  Nature abhors commonality. 

[OH Boy]

with the peeling bark I've gotta go with Silver Maple too. Older Red Maples get rougher bark on the trunk as they age, but usually not peeling like that. One way to tell Reds in the winter is the bark on the upper limbs is generally smooth gray like a younger tree. if you can see a decided change up top, probably Red Maple. if rough bark all the way up, Silver. If its an older tree and one side of the bark ridges is curling out, indication of a sugar maple. tap it.

[woodjunky]

There is water near by.... The Silver maple buds i seen from the pics were similar to red maple but not quite as red and not quite as rounded in their bunching...I will check the upper bark in the morning. we'll get to the bottom of this! Im hanging on to red maple theory... but the silver maple near water theory threatens that.... I just dont want to change my mind for the 8th time:)

[WDH]

You can tell them apart from the leaves. 

Red maple usually has 3 shallow cut lobes, and there are teeth between the lobes.

Silver maple usually has 5 deeply cut lobes with teeth between the lobes.

Sugar maple usually has 5 lobes, and there are no teeth between the lobes.

There may be some fallen leaves under the tree that are in good enough condition to allow you to positively ID this tree. 

[WmFritz]

There may be some fallen leaves under the tree that are in good enough condition to allow you to positively ID this tree.

I'll bet there is... right under da turty inches of snow that's fallen on top of them. 

[WmFritz]

Btw, how many lobes are on the Canadian flag?   ;D

[SwampDonkey]

Looks like red maple. Big buds on them are next years flower buds. Go out in spring before leaves and them things will be bloomed out in red.

[WDH]

Btw, how many lobes are on the Canadian flag?   ;D

5, and there are no teeth between the lobes.

[woodjunky]

Yea turdy inches of compacted snow.... Melted down from the 5 feet we already got........ :-\
It is hiding all my Cherry burls I thought were culls. Since then i cut up a very rotten burl that was perfectly fine 1/2 to 1 inch in...

[Clark]

There is water near by.... Tbut the silver maple near water theory threatens that.... I just dont want to change my mind for the 8th time:)

I should have been more specific. If you are in or near a flood plain then it is more likely to be silver maple. Red maple grows near water quite frequently, especially low spots in the landscape but it is less common in flood plains.

Clark

[SwampDonkey]

Up here, our silver maple is in river bottom and isands of the main river. Red maples grow up here in swamps, wetlands edges, to dry hardwood ridges. I've seen them in among the cattails when a cedar swamp is cut off. When the leaves turn color in fall in them gutted out swamps, it's the only thing that looks nice about it unless cattails and sedge is your thing.  : Takes a white cedar in those places 20 years to get to 6'.

[petefrom bearswamp]

I vote for Acer rubrum.