The Arrival of Fall 2008

Every fall we look forward to the changing colors all around us.  It is amazing how fast this sometimes happens and how different the colors can look depending on the time of the day or the way the sun reflects on the foliage.

Just over the fence in our back yard is our neighbor's Maple tree.  Every year it puts on a miraculous display of color for us to enjoy, I think we have taken fall pictures of that tree for the past 36 years.  It has grown bigger over time but the color never disappoints us.

They also have a tall Mountain Ash that produces great clusters of beautiful red berries;  In fact you can see its yellow leaves in the background at the left of the Maple. 

 Robins swarm into the branches gorging themselves on the berries before leaving for the winter.  Their feeding frenzy is one of the noisiest gatherings in the neighborhood.  

The small potted Maples in the lower part of the picture are ones that started from seeds dropped by the larger tree.

This is a Maple tree in our back yard that started from a seed that fell from the parent tree into our flower bed and sprouted.  I transferred the seedling to a pot when it was about six inches tall.  I probably transplanted it four or five times more to larger pots before it reached the height of three feet and then I planted it in our flower bed.

It is now ten feet tall and twelve feet wide and has filled up the area very nicely.  I do prune the branches back now and then.  We watched and pampered it as it grew from a baby,  It is now seven years old.

The Turning

October 1997

A patchwork quilt of fallen leaves

Gently blankets the ground.

The air turns crisp and cold

and robins can't be found.

I miss the warmth of summer,

The flowers most of all

Their fragrance wafting on the breeze,

Is replaced by the wood smoke of fall.