Red maples

Two red maple trees tower over the drive at the front of our house. When they're fully leafed out, they filter the morning sun on the house's eastern facade. During summer's warmest days, the dappled light helps keep the living room from heating up too much. In winter, when they're bare, the low sun can shine through. When there is sun.

The top of one of the maple trees and its shiny new red leaves, taken from our deck.

The apple trees in back are in full blossom right now. We're in an "on" year for the apples and I'm expecting a lot of them. It will be a pain when they start to fall from the trees later this summer and I have to pick them up before I can cut the grass. Most of them go into the compost pile (you can only eat so many apples), and that's good for the garden.