With bark of blazing coral, this maple’s early shade of chartreuse offers double the bang for its buck. It will largely retain this bright and fresh color, deepening only slightly throughout the season, and at the end it will flare out in a fiery, golden sunset. For now, we are at just at the start of this year’s journey, and that starts with the spring rain seen on the foliage here.
We needed the rain, even if it came with the threat of tornados, something that never used to be part of these parts. The world has changed, for better or worse, and a tornado would be par for this world’s course at the moment. I will take the rain as a comfort – a sign of sustenance and survival – and the mark of a season to pave the way for summer.
