overdue Japanese maple

I've been meaning to take pictures of Japanese maple's fall foliage for more than a month now, and finally did it today. I just love their wonderful gradation from vermillion to crimson in autumn, as well as their lime-green shoot in early spring. The flicker of sunshine through the slashess of their intricately shaped leaves always makes me joyous, especially when the tree is ancient and tall, making the fierce sunlight of Japanese summer even gentler. I am happy I finally recorded their fall colors in Chicago, so far away from my home country. (River Forest, IL, Nov./9/2004)

Originally uploaded by uBookworm.