Late August Walks

I love this time of year with its vibrant colors on flowers and leaves alike and its gorgeous golden light, a few weeks that flaunt the best of both summer and fall.  It heralds in my favorite months and seasons, making it all the sweeter to me. 

♥

In Love with a Tree

Saturday morning was a slushy mess here, but the sun was shining and I needed fresh air, so I walked around taking pictures for awhile.  I think trees are beautiful in every season but that they're best shown-off in winter--handsome women without any makeup on, nothing to hide.  Much of my first few visits with Mike here in 2007 was spent walking, and one of the beautiful things that kept grabbing my attention on our long treks all over the city was this tree.  After inquiring about it in an online forum back then, I was told it was the London Plane tree.  It is one of the things I most love seeing when I head outdoors here. 

The amazing jigsaw puzzle-ish camouflage bark is what caught my eye in 2007, enough that I mentioned it in a journal entry that summer. 

At the time, I jokingly called these "inflatable trees" and "papier-mâché trees."  Their bark and sometimes-saggy-looking trunks can make them look unreal, like hollow, painted stage props.   

From all I've read, it seems London Planes and American Sycamores are often confused.  The city has been working to save its old London Planes and has been planting a new-and-improved disease-resistant variety, as well.

Look at this incredible bark.

Just lovely. 

And majestic!  The height!  The strong curves of the trunk and branches! 

And well-worth the trudge through the snow.