The Forestry Forum

I hate doing this and feel like I should be figuring this out on my own but I'm having a hard time finding out what this tree is. I have quite a few of these small 4 to 6 inch diameter trees on the property and a few 18 or so inch diameter that appear to be the same species.  Thank you guys, one of these days you will have thoroughly schooled me and I can stop asking for tree ids.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/49432/20180706_211132.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1530930494)
 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/49432/20180706_211145.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1530930538)
 

Looks like an eastern hophornbeam. Does it have a beer hops looking flower and a catkin when in "bloom"?

Thanks Don , I'm not really sure what it looks like in bloom. Before i got into milling I never really paid attention to my trees.  I knew the large, common, easy to identify trees but never really look at my forest closely.  I googled hophornbeam and the bark looks identical to the pics.  I didn't take a very good pic of my leaves so I can't tell if they have those tiny serrations I'm seeing in the Google pics 

It's a smaller tree that likes to take over here. Young ones have smooth bronze bark with horizontal lenticels like cherry or birch. Deer don't browse them so I can end up with sort of thickets of them. The firewood is good if kept dry, it rots very fast on the ground. Not particularly easy to dry, similar to hickory and makes a good hickory substitute on the grill, the smoke is very similar.

That is what it looks like to me, too.