Ice ice baby

The Japanese Maple looks lovely in her ice cloak, don't you think?

Caught out

The Japanese Maple still had most of its leaves when the snow fell

Maple lights

The way these whirligigs are illuminated by the late afternoon sun captured my attention for a good 10 minutes or so on my walk home.

I've been away from thinking about trees for a while. The past six months have involved lots of changes for me---rather like the changes a tree might have to go through in the spring if it were replanted in a new location the previous fall. Even if the new location is a better one, on higher ground with less flooding, with more sunlight, and lots of room to grow, there's a lot to adapt to, and sinking down new roots requires a lot of work.

Of course, a tree doesn't have to move itself or have to figure out the logistics of moving. Heh.

This fall finds me in a new state working at a new job that I'm much better suited for. I'm so happy with the changes I've made. Still, lots of changes. Lots of adapting.

In my new town, I'm surrounded by oodles of magnificent trees, both large and small. They're impossible to ignore, especially in all their glorious fall colors. They also deserve to be shared, and I shall do my best on that over the next several months.

Mmmmm

I love Japanese Maples. That is all.

Another Japanese maple

This one looks like someone pruned the top off it.  It's very boxy tucked up against the library window.   Maybe they grow that way?

My Japanese Maple

This was supposed to be one of the delicate, lace-cut Japanese maples. Someone was helping me excavate the pond and hit the sapling with debris.  We tried saving it but it didn't make it. Clearly, it had been grafted to another variety entirely.  Despite the bare sumac towering over the fence, my little maple is actually eight feet tall. I have grown to love it.

Lovely Maple

Things got busy last week, and I let my tree posting fall by the wayside. I'll be going back over the next few days to fill in my missing posts. In the mean time, here is a lovely maple found on a walk in my neighborhood. I love the symmetry in the shape and the shadows cast by the sun and the branches.

Stripy Maple Whirlygigs

Last photo of the stripy maple. I know that some people call the seeds of maple trees helicopters, but to us they were always whirlygigs. I love the way that they almost look like butterflies!

Stripy Maple - up close

More stripy, dark bark and bright green leaves.

Stripy Maple - through the leaves

You can see in this photo why I'm calling it the stripy maple. Also, I love the contrast of the dark, stripy bark and the bright green leaves, with the sun shining through.

Stripy Maple

On Saturday I went for a walk in my neighborhood with my camera. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining. The bark on the trees was wet from rain during the night. I fell in love with a number of trees, including this stripy, twisty, Japanese maple. I loved it so much, you're getting several days of pictures.

Maple in the rain

I took this picture walking to work this morning. This Japanese maple reminded me that trees are even beautiful in the rain.

Also there is now a(nother) picture of a tree with lovely flowers up below the lilacs below. Just pretend it's been up there for a couple days.