suggested by Gemma Wiseman's Greyscale Territory ~ Poetic songlines"If you were a tree, what would you be and why?"
I would without a doubt be a sugar maple tree. 
Just look at this gorgeous tree. Full, leafy, colorful, very shady, and best of all, it bears a sweet secret. I love maple trees all year.
Just look at this gorgeous tree. Full, leafy, colorful, very shady, and best of all, it bears a sweet secret. I love maple trees all year. In the spring...well actually starting in the winter...as the leaf buds turn red and begin to swell, my backyard becomes better than Bath & Body Works! My dad taps sugar maples all around our properties, as well as at friends' homes, and makes his own maple syrup. I wake up in the morning with my house infused with that smoky, sweet scent savored by maple syrup aficiondos. 
All year long, my 4-Grain Pancakes are topped with REAL syrup. Syrup finds its way into lots of other things in my kitchen...cappucino, baked goods, and even our fingers and hair ;-)
All year long, my 4-Grain Pancakes are topped with REAL syrup. Syrup finds its way into lots of other things in my kitchen...cappucino, baked goods, and even our fingers and hair ;-) In the summer, our sugar maples (and other maples too) are leafy and provide wonderful shade. You'll find us enjoying the cool respite as we read together or have a picnic lunch.
Fall is my other favorite season, when those same maples turn gorgeous shades of red, yellow, and orange before dropping their leaves. I love fall colors, particularly those of the maple.
Winter for the maples is a time of preparation for the upcoming "active" season. Even while bare, those maples are still beautiful 
when they're coated with snow and ice. Their branches provide roosts for birds (including wild turkeys) and animals.
when they're coated with snow and ice. Their branches provide roosts for birds (including wild turkeys) and animals. The maple tree is useful year-round. I want to be like the maple. I want to be useful, comforting, sweet, and pleasant to be around. I want people to look forward to my presence, no matter when that may be. I want to be steady and consistent for those whom I love.
Our yard is yielding an abundant crop of Suillus luteus and Suillus granulatus this fall. The easier to pronounce moniker is slippery Jack mushrooms. They are one of the last edible fungi to be found in the fall, along with Calvatia gigantea, the giant puffball. 
