Japanese Maple

My wife teases me for taking the same picture so many times a year. It's me - sitting on our screened in porch, with my feet up (in flip flops of course), with a beer, either writing or reading. And of course, my favorite tree in the background. It is a Japanese Maple. I know nothing about trees, only that it is red and beautiful and I love it.

I also know that my children like to climb it, a woodpecker has liked to peck it, and it drops a jumping-pile's worth of leaves every autumn.

I might have moved to the city 18 years ago, but part of me will always be a country girl - loving beautiful trees and quiet nights full of stars.