Sugar Maple Leaves - The New York State Tree
"I can see clearly now, that the rain is gone
...its gonna be a bright sunshiney day"
~ Johnny Nash
There is no more glorious time than a sunshiney day in Autumn in the Northeast deciduous woodlands of the United States (and in Japan, the coast of East Asia and in parts of Europe).
Native Dogwood (Cornus florida) against a native Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
The native trees put on their cloaks of color and literally take your breath away... I walk along public trails near my house and exult in Nature's show.
Sleepy Hollow Maple Tree
Sometimes I want to literally stop and applaud, crying 'BRAVO!' to a particular tree or scene.
near Mt Kisco, NY
Wouldn't that be wonderful if we had crowds of people standing in front of a particular colorful sugar maple on a street applauding? Man, that would be outstanding....
In Japan, there is something like that in their Autumn tradition of viewing the changing color of maples. Called "momijigari", which literally means 'hunting red leaves', the Japanese people flock to places of natural beauty to see the short lived show of colorful leaves. Everyday the media announces a Momiji-gari forecast called the 'autumn tint front' and people follow this to see places of 'peak color'. 
The ephemeral nature of this magnificent show is at the heart of its eternal allure - miss it and you must wait a year to catch Nature's glory. So if you live anywhere near an Autumn wonderland please grab the moment...
NOW GO OUTSIDE AND THANK THAT TREE....or at least clap.
Sugar Maple
for a great book on fall foliage:
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