thetatiana

Santa just got me a new camera, a Canon Powershot A530, a nice low-end-but-more-than-I-need camera with 5 megapixels, just in time to record the fall beauty of my japanese maple. This tree is just about the prettiest tree I've ever seen. It's beautiful all seasons of the year. It's usually filled with birds of all description who perch there to get close to the feeders I fill for them outside the picture windows in my living room. In winter the bare branches are graceful and lovely. In spring the new leaves are red before the full deep green comes in. In summer it is lovely and shady and makes a sweet sound as the wind ruffles its hair. But in autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, it is breathtaking.

This tree is something like Laurelin from Valinor, west of Middle Earth, and I love it the way elves love trees. (laughs)

My mother and I can't remember when she planted it. It was some time after we built this house, perhaps during the 80s. So maybe it's 30 years old now. Not long after she first planted a tree there, Dad accidentally mowed it down, but without saying a word he went to the nursery and bought another one, for he knew how much my mother loved that tree. So this tree is that replacement, that my Dad planted after mowing the first one down.

After my dad died a few years ago, Mom wanted a smaller place with no stairs, so she sold the house to me. So I have come into possession (though it really owns itself) of this lovely being, this tree that sheds its grace and beauty (and leaves) across my back deck. This is the time of year when it is most glorious. =) The picture above was taken last week, as a "before" shot. These below were taken on my little cell-phone-camera last year.