I planted this big leaf maple (Acer macrophylum) fifteen years ago. It has been beaten back by the local herd of deer, but it has finally reached a point where it is safely established. I watch it a lot. I discover that it tells me things; a large growth increment tells of a wet winter with a fair spring, or a marginal leaf scorch indicates the searing aridity of our late summer. Here it foreshadows the fleeting beauty of Autumn, and its near approach.