There Is This Tree...

    

   When I open the blind in the bathroom window in the morning, the first sight I see is this Japanese Maple tree out by the drive.

   In the late Fall, it is a beacon of brightness, drawing the eyes of all around who pass our way. When the sun is on it, no matter the time of day, it shines.

   From the early morning to the time of the day when the tree catches the last light of a sunset in the West,   God's handiwork is on display.

   Carolyn planted this over 10 years ago. It was a volunteer seedling taken from Jim and Louise Woodruff's yard, and it has prospered over these years. The Woodruffs are lifelong friends from their days at Oakwood Baptist Church, and their daughter Beth, who passed away from cancer last year around this time, was married to Carolyn's son B.J.

   No matter the time of day, when the sun is shining, the maple is projecting its colors.

   In the midday, the red is in stark contrast to the yellow of the willow oaks in the front yard.

   One of my favorite shots of the tree in its glory, is taken from under the branches, in the early afternoon, looking out to the southwest.

   When Carolyn and Bruce built their home here back in the early 70s, the land was covered with mostly pines and Sweet Gums, with an occasional Dogwood. Over the years my wife has brought trees from other spots, ones that she has dug up and transplanted, so that today the variety is awesome.

   This piece of ground that we call home is filled with trees. Oaks, Dogwoods, Magnolias, Tulip Populars, Hollys, Cedars, and even the recently planted Leyland Cypress (Clyde), but to my eye, not one of these matches the splendor of Fall in the foliage of that Japanese Maple.