If one lives in Houston, that or travel are the options unless you are satisfied with raking leaves. Brightly colored trees in the fall and snow for Christmas occur only on greeting cards or photos chosen to rub in what one is missing. We do have azaleas in the spring and swimming pools or Galveston to delineate summer. I am offering some written visuals or marginal botanical comments just to enhance the move toward Thanksgiving.
All summer, trees have green leaves to perform that process to give energy and growth: photosynthesis. Less sunlight, cooler weather, and/or drought can cause the green to disappear and true color to appear. Tree by tree those choices can be red, orange, or yellow. Colorado can offer a vision of a whole valley ablaze. Drive north through Boerne on I10 and a church has one maple to capture in a picture. Just “to do it my way” Texas live oaks wait to spring to have new green leaves push off last year’s, so a tree is never bare.
Is there a lesson to be learned? One last burst of color and you’re out of here. Or you just wither and cling to your branch as in Oliver Wendell Holmes’ The Last Leaf. I tried finding the perfect Bible verse and from Psalm 1:3 to Revelation 22:12 note that the only place trees do well is if they are planted near rivers or streams. Then John 7:38 is your watering place; what comes from Him provides all the sustenance you need.
The words of the mouth are deep waters,
but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream. Proverbs 18:4
