October Catch up: 2: Japanese Maple Splendor

Staying home when the mountains and valleys and canyons are ablaze with color is nearly impossible for me.

But sometimes even viewing such places from afar is spectacular too.

Rain falls randomly upon autumn's hillside crazy quilt patchwork colors.

You should seriously wonder how I get anything done with views like this to enjoy.

(Believe me...I have been tearing through to-do lists lately but knock off around 4 to go outside and admire God's latest splendor.

When overhead the sky appears to have peek holes to heaven...it is fitting to be still and behold.

I really don't need to go far for a blast of fall color though.

Thanks to Bernie's passion for Japanese maples and his ever growing collection, autumn color can be viewed by just looking down into our garden.

Which usually causes me to decide that looking down isn't enough.

I grab my camera and go down from our deck and look at the Japanese maples up close.

Can you believe the color spectrum on each tiny leaf?

This variety is named "Sister Ghost".

(There is a whole Japanese maple "Ghost" family-Grandma Ghost, Purple Ghost...and all of them are simply splendid!)

Another view of Sister Ghost.

"Fairy Hair", with leaves nearly hair like thin, and the rest of the year it is spring green in color.

Then, one day, it magically Fairy Hair goes from being a green fairy to being a red fairy!

This one has a Japanese name that I can't spell or pronounce, but both Bernie and Jeff can rattle its name off with a perfect Japanese accent!

Autumn Moon.

The blotches will eventually join together to be make a solid colored leaf.

Hogyogo spring green leaves turn orange little by little.

While the spring green Coral Bark (with red bark!) turns yellow with crimson edges.

Each leaf is about the size of a quarter.

Such delicacy!

Not sure this one's name.

Japanese maples are so dear.

They leaf out in one color in the spring (pink, lime, burgundy, apricot) then go green for summer, then switch again for autumn.

Each tree is like having three trees in one!

Not to let the Japanese maples hog all the autumn garden glory:

The Autumn Anemone is blossoming wildly as well.

The pink color seemed seasonally out of place to me years ago.

Now I find that pink shows up in many autumnal scenes.

The double anemone is extravagantly dressed in her floppy layers.

The Baldsmith queens over the anemone.

Purple stems, hints of orange and pinky reds can be seen upon closer inspection.

Viewing leaves from inches away reveal hidden colors every time.

An autumn robin overhead?

It sat in the tree and gave its single note call over and over again.

It looked fat and downy and ready for winter's arrival.

As did the fluffy resident orange cat, who knows how to pose for best effect.

Another week and the green grass will be buried in yellow leaves.

For now, each leaf is hunt worthy for Tate the cheerful cat.

For now, each day brings more colors and reasons to enjoy being outside, whether outside is found far away or steps away in my own back yard.

(And these were just the some of the Japanese maples in our back yard! The front yard collection is knocking it out too!)