I’ve always loved spring. It’s my favorite season. Oh, I know, the t-shirt days of summer are wonderful, and fall brings some of the most gorgeous days of the year. But spring! The rebirth of the world after its long winter sleep, what a miracle. I used to watch for the greening of the trees, the bright, alive green that you see only in spring, truly spring green. But now it is the first colouring of the maple trees that intrigues me.
Maple trees are well-known for their brilliant show of autumnal leaves. Their spring show is more subtle, delicate, the first blush of the new growing season enlivening the forest. As you look across farmers fields and pastures to woodlots and forests, it’s not green that captures the eye, but a muted red. There’s none of the bravado of September leaves, just the quiet promise of new life. it’s a sight to feed the soul.
Willow House Chronicles 