November Sunset

The garden is brown and patched with early snow, now that November has had its way. We have to look a little harder for beauty in this landscape, most of these darkening days, but every now and then Nature gives us a gift like this gorgeous sunset.

The tree in silhouette against the sky, here, is one of two ancient sugar maples in front of our old farmhouse.

This is a very traditional landscape feature across the eastern seaboard of North America. In summer’s heat, the thick foliage of the maple serves to shade the house from direct sun; in winter, when the leaves have fallen, the welcome winter sunshine is able to find its way through the bare branches to the windows of the front porch.