Writing these entries, I feel like a child joyously and clumsily playing with an interesting jigsaw puzzle – a multibillion-piece puzzle of autumn that I really enjoy doing...
And this entry is about a lovely piece that I am happy to pick up and place into the beautiful picture of fall – oak leaves :)
To me, oaks are known as the respected ancient trees from some old fairy tales. Though I have never seen them before, oaks are still familiar to me. In many tales that I once read, things usually happened around the ancient oak tree, or cây sồi già...
Looking at their thick branches and abundant shade, I believe these weather-beaten oaks do have a very long history, a long history from “once upon a time…” when those characters in fairy tales were still alive…
When I was in Vietnam, I never bothered to search for how an oak tree might look like, I preferred to leave it to my imagination. But coming here, I am happy that I could see real oak trees.
The first time when I spotted some very cute acorns hiding timidly in a big, dark green tree on the way home, their familiar shape and shiny brown skin misled me into thinking these nuts were some kind of chestnuts :P. But actually, they are acorns from oak trees. Now, are you asking the same question? :D - I googled and know, these acorns are also edible !!! ;))
The first time when I spotted some very cute acorns hiding timidly in a big, dark green tree on the way home, their familiar shape and shiny brown skin misled me into thinking these nuts were some kind of chestnuts :P. But actually, they are acorns from oak trees. Now, are you asking the same question? :D - I googled and know, these acorns are also edible !!! ;))
Oak trees are said to bring fall colors, most of them. But to my disappointment, those oak trees I saw did not display any impressive fall colors at all. Their leaves just shriveled in a dead brown and then listlessly fall in melancholy…
However, last weekend, when we were driving around, I spotted a beautiful oak… Let me tell you the story through some photos...
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In this late November, few leaves are left on deciduous trees. Liquidambars - the trees that heartily put on glorious colors some weeks ago - now are left with only tiny spiny fruits.
So are sumacs.
We also come back to the maple tree since I want to know how it is doing now... It is so sad that when we are already there, I almost do not recognize it. The once gorgeous tree is now left with just dead leaves and bare branches. This is usual and comes as no surprise, but it is still a heart-breaking view to see…
Luckily, a mischievous squirrel jumps out from nowhere. It keeps playing and jumping under the maple tree, which brings life to the landscape and cheers me up ^_^
To digress a little, this is funny. If it is easy to see a sneaky black rat squinting from a corner of the street in Vietnam, then it is common here to see a squirrel jumping from afar. Rats and squirrels are both mischievous rodents, but squirrels are sure more lovable!
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| It suddenly stands up, staring at us and then continues playing :D |
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| In this pic, it looks like a docile rabbit ! ^^ |
Back to our oak trees, just like what I have read from an article, when other gorgeous trees have dropped most of their leaves and fall color, it is the silent but persistent oaks that carry fall foliage until winter arrives.
I am glad to encounter a nice oak tree for the first time as we continue our drive. Its leaves are not dried up like some other oaks’ that I have seen before, which is just what I am expecting to see from the beautiful oaks.
Many oak leaves have fallen down, giving more stage for others to clearly show their unique leaf shape...
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This oak tree brings a deeper tone of fall color: brown. There is something ancient, something silent, something thoughtful, something mature…
It is not coincidence when I start this entry thinking of puzzles. Just look at those brown lobed oak leaves spreading all over the ground !
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| The oak leaves on the ground look like a challenging jigsaw puzzle! Too many pieces to put into places ^^ |
***
Writing these entries, I feel like a child joyously going around, picking up pieces of autumn here and there, now and then… But this puzzle of fall beauty is so massive that I know, I can never gather all the pieces together to complete the whole picture of fall foliage - I am just happy to see, to feel, to write, to play and to place some of the lovely pieces I've found into the poetic picture of autumn... one by one...
(to be continued... next year? :P)
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"Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow
Each day is as special as you want it to be."
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