Red Maple and the Early Morning Sun

Turning toward the other side of light,
In a tower of wind, a tree idling in air,
Beyond my own echo,
Neither forward nor backward,
Unperplexed, in a place leading nowhere.

~ Theodore Roethke,  from “Journey to the Interior”

The last few mornings have been both ordinary and extra-ordinary.

This morning I was in my backyard watching the sunrise as I have done the past few days. The sun is hidden behind a large stand of trees, so I don’t see the sun as it peeks over the horizon. Instead I see the sun’s first light rays not in the sky, but as the light strikes the tops of trees  several blocks away from my home.

Then I wait about five minutes, and I am treated to one of nature’s finest gifts – and it takes place in my backyard.

I watch as the sun’s rays hit the very top of the red maple in my yard.

The maple has just begun to change colors, and the colors change from top to bottom. The maple reminds me of a giant green candle, and the candle’s flame? The red leaves flashing in the early morning sunlight.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She quickly pulled on a jacket and a warm hat to take photographs of the red maple in the early morning sun. Unfortunately, she went out wearing only socks on her feet, and had to come inside quickly because her feet were wet and cold.