The View from my Window
Fall came suddenly this year in the Pacific Northwest. We were enjoying summer one day and the next
day the skies opened and the water poured down.
It rained hard for a week and a half.
The trees, with their full complement of leaves, were heaving in the
wind. Branches broke, power lines
snapped, and gutters overflowed in every neighborhood.
Some deciduous trees change color and drop their leaves in
response to temperature, others in response to day length. Two weeks into October, the temperatures are
dropping, the days are growing shorter and the leaves are changing in every
neighborhood.
From my office window the view is dense with foliage. Against the dark green of Douglas firs, the
native alders turn a rusty yellow. They
are not showy trees. Another native, the
Big Leaf maples are slightly lighter in hue but again, they don’t wear their
colors like a debutante wears a gown.
More pale still are the cottonwoods, and while they aren’t bright with
color, they are bright with movement.
Their leaves flicker in the wind and catch the eye.
Because I live in the city, there are many non-native trees
in the landscape. From my window is a
luminous yellow tree which glows like a round torch when the sun strikes
it. Even on a dark and cloudy day it
shines in bright contrast to the somber natives. My eyes are drawn to it again and again
during its brief time of seasonal glory.
There are reds and russets of maples and oaks and more
yellows and oranges of elms and ash. The
purple-leaved ornamental plums turn a burnished bronze as the temperature
dips. The sweet gums and dogwoods, the
tulip trees and liquidambars all blaze as their chlorophyll breaks down and the
trees store up energy for the winter.
Soon, the deciduous trees will be bare but our hills never
are. The evergreens are as thick as a winter
pelt. Douglas firs tower over the
landscape whether in town or in the country.
There are cedars and spruce and pine on every hill. As the deciduous trees fade into the
background, the conifers make up for their absence. The variety in shades of green is
astounding. Some so dark and deep that
they nearly look black and others almost a yellowy green that reminds us spring
will come again.
But today, the view at work is dominated by that glowing
ball of bright yellow. This tree will
hold its leaves for another week or so and the parade of colorful trees will
march in time for a little longer. After
that, rain-soaked woods and a palette of gray and green will be the view from
my window.
