Tribute To Fall "Little Red Maple"

I caught up with a cousin of mine (David Martin) and the two of us have decided to combine forces to present a Tribute to Fall in poem and picture. The poems are Davids. I took the pictures. The first poem is "Little Red Maple" and was written by David May 22, 1999.

Cousins by blood, friends by nature

Little Red Maple

Little red maple standing proud
without a flaw,
spreading branches of leaves
answers the call.
To provide a place of serenity
and birds to nest.
Never waiver to time and pass
the test.

A tree can offer love through
silence without a sound.
much like 'Ole Glory
and the tree of life are bound.
We stand beside our flag that
whips in the wind,
representing all of our soldiers
and a country they defend.



So give us a home where freedom may reign -
where the beauty of our trees
eases our pain.
Little red maple that we give
to the earth,
symbolizes a nation that has
grown strong since birth.
Like a seed of a tree for which
it came,
God bless our country and her
people - one in the same.

Maumee Bay Boardwalk

I accompanied my wife on a business retreat to Maumee Bay just out side of Toledo this past weekend. I had a couple of hours to kill in the morning before we left so I went on the 2 mile loop boardwalk located right next to the lodge. The trees really haven't started to fully turn yet so there was not much in the way of fall color. The mushroom was my find of the day.








I wish I hadn't cropped off the one tip of the red leaf on the boardwalk but I think I can fix it in Photoshop. It was a very overcast day and the mosquitoes were out in full force. Other than dealing with them when I stopped to take a picture, it was a very enjoyable walk. It had rain the night before which helped saturate some of the colors. For a short outing I was happy with what I was able to capture.