A Mighty Maple

You could say we have a love affair going with trees here in Northern Wisconsin. Especially this time of year when the mighty maples turn the landscape into colors that dazzle and awe and call leaf peepers from everywhere to gaze upon the magic. 

This gorgeous maple in the above photo and my blog header is in my neighbors yard.   Dave and I hold this tree in special honor and cherish it for you see Dave planted it. Are you impressed?  I'll tell you it's hard for even us to believe how magnificent this tree has become.

In 1998 we sold the little house we lived in when we got married and bought the one directly across the street where we live now. I can look out my kitchen window and see our old house and this maple tree in the front yard everyday.      

Dave dug this tree when it was just a six foot sapling  from his parents farmland about thirty miles from here.  He transplanted it here in  1987 and we've been blessed to watch it grow daily to it's present height somewhere between forty or fifty feet tall!

We often marvel at how big and nicely formed it is. A gorgeous specimen of a sugar maple tree.  

It continues to baffle us how it grew so big in the twenty four years since it was planted. 

On Wednesday we took a  drive to the south shore of Lake Superior  on our annual trek to Bayfield WI.  A scenic drive to be sure. The leaves were spectacular but none really rivaled the ones we see each day out our own kitchen window. 

A leaf pillow I made from wool that was rolled up and simmered in a pot.  I've been saving the wool for when the right inspiration hit to make something.  Oak leaf cutouts are appliqued onto  black wool and stuffed with wool snippets and left over bits from rug hooking.





I also  made some pumpkins from my hand dyed wool. I've been creating and working on many many new things........ I will share soon!  Dave is on vacation, we're in the middle of many projects and helping my Mom with her basement project etc.  It's looking more and more like my plan B may have to go into effect.  No students have signed up yet for my beginning rug hooking class.  Monday is the deadline for signing up. We'll talk soon my friends!!
Cathy G