The Story in the Leaves

The unfolding of the story that one tree has told over the years

I remember seeing this maple in a field, standing alone near wild apple trees seven years ago. At the time, I didn’t know it would come to mean so much to me, but now I ache to stand beside her through every season as if she has become an old friend.

I have not lived somewhere long enough to pay close attention to the trees around me for most of my life. When this land became a part of our lives and our story, I instantly felt connected to the trees here, knowing I could know them for a long time. So, I began paying visits on our walks to this tree. It sits in the field we leave wild other than set paths we tend for skiing and walking. Every year, she blazes in a tone of orange, red, and/or yellow, as most maples tend to. Her color isn’t what has captured me, but her presence she holds in this field. There is power, gentleness, and acceptance when you are among her. It instantly feels safe when we are with her.

First fall in 2016 of the tree and us

The first fall we got to experience with her wasn’t one where we lived on the land; we just regularly visited. I still have this first photo of my husband airplaning our 7-month-old son over our 7-year-old golden retriever, Nellie. Even if we didn't live here, we had committed to this land as our future. Our son was still too young to walk, and Mike and I were just learning who we were as new parents and what it meant to lay down roots of our own. There was a beginning and ending in this image. We had only been back in Michigan for a few weeks, and everything felt fresh and raw from moving and still adjusting to parenthood. Moving back to Michigan and becoming parents simultaneously meant leaving many things behind as well—a beautiful and bittersweet time in our lives.

After that, I always snapped a photo in October with this maple. I watched her intently as her colors shifted alongside myself, our family, and our lives. That first photo became our benchmark of the beginning of our growth as individuals, family, and our relationship to the land.