This week’s rain and wind completed the denuding of many of our deciduous trees, including this young, 40-foot sugar maple that we planted in 2007, when she was about four feet tall:
Here you see her on rainy Friday morning after a night of rain and wind. This morning, it’s still raining and windy, and she’s not wearing a single leaf.
On November 1, however, she was just starting to signal her leaves to make themselves into her usual stylish fall outfit:
She is, of course, beautiful when she’s dressed, and seems to know it.
Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) have been known to live 400 years and reach 120 feet in height. They’re native to the hardwood forests of Maine and other northeastern states and perhaps best known for being the primary source of maple syrup. They also are excellent shade trees when they have their summer and fall outfits on. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, On November 1 and 22, 2024.)