Japanese Maple, November Colors

The full glory of autumn is the briefest of seasons. A day or two of rain and wind can send all the leaves flying. When the sun is out, let's remember to stop under the trees and look up. There, right above our heads, are all the colors of a rainbow, completed by the sky. In any season, one of the most comely attributes of a Japanese maple is the delicate and complex shape of its leaves. On this day, the sun turned some of the higher leaves into shadows dancing against the colors of ones right above me. The bare branches of this tree's neighbor are a reminder that soon the maple will be reduced to the essential winter design elements of line and shape.