OK, Ms. Brown, I'll take your bait.  I've lived in Anchorage for the past 49 years and over that time I have, indeed, watched the trees.  This year the trees leafed out about three weeks earlier than normal.  Timberline has also increased over 100 feet in elevation over the course of the past 49 years.  The trees are also dropping their leaves later in the year than they used to.  And I've noted that the fire season starts about a month earlier than it used to.  Yes, one can, indeed, learn a lot by observing the trees.