The Last Leaf

Tribute to a tree

We moved our Japanese maple from my parents’ house about 25 years ago and planted it in our front yard.  When it struggled there, we moved it to the back, an all-day project of digging, dragging it on a tarp, replanting.  There it took root and thrived, and, despite numerous challenges, has grown into the large and lovely companion it is today.  It anchors our wildflower garden, and provides shelter to birds throughout the year.

From first growth in the spring to its last leaf in the fall, it nourishes our souls and our lives. It has withstood squirrels chewing its bark (which we now protect with wire cylinders), drought, off-season cold spells and warm spells, and squirrels using it as a launching point to reach our bird feeders.  Its early spring growth is tiny and red, its summer foliage turns from bright green to dark green.

Then in the fall, it begins to turn color, as shorter daylength and cold nights cause the production of chlorophyll to end, allowing the other colors within the leaves to show themselves. A lovely palette of greens, yellow-greens, oranges and reds. This transformation takes several weeks, and every year, in late autumn, I photograph it nearly every day, recording its transition. Then, finally, and often in a single night, it drops all of its leaves. Or, all but one. A last leaf, which hangs on for a bit longer, before joining its companions on the ground.

Below is a series of images of this beloved tree through the year. May it live forever!

(Above: female Northern Cardinal in winter)

(Above: Early Spring)

(Above: Leafing out in May)

(Above: Hosting a May visitor - Rose-breasted Grosbeak)

(Above: a late summer cardinal; offspring of the winter resident perhaps?)

(Above: The beautiful transition begins)

(Above and below…and continues!)

(Below: oranges and reds on nearby branches)

(Above: Down they fall, with only the Last Leaf remaining, below)