That was another of my guesses, and the branch in the newer picture looks like it too. Some have a similar bark, but it's usually thicker on the trees I've seen. Catalpa makes great wood for starting the stove and for quick hot should season fires, when it's well seasoned if you look at it too hard before putting it in the stove it lights up lol.
The northern catalpa that I've lugged home has yellower wood, and corded bark like locust. I'm still thinking it's some variety of poplar. There was a tulip poplar thread, I'll go back and look at the pics.
Any and all, why one of my first guess is always Maple is because there's so many different types of it everything for boxelder to Japanese 2 sugar maple
I think you are right, southern catalpa, same as jrider's. I know. Do you? From Wikipedia: Distribution In the USA, Catalpa bignonioides is undoubtedly a Southern tree. Europeans first observed the tree growing in the fields of the Cherokee Native American tribes, who called it Catalpa. However, it can flourish in the North as well, and accordingly its original range is somewhat in doubt.[2] Despite its southern origins, it has been able to grow almost anywhere in the United States and southernmost Canada, and has become widely naturalized outside its restricted native range.[citation needed] Catalpa bignonioides - Wikipedia Someone must have planted one up here in NH specially!
