Walking Journal #1003 'A Captivating Welcome'

The city streets are bustling with illuminations,

creating a festive atmosphere
that feels like it's setting the stage for Christmas,

and when I'm out on site,
I see contractors
making their rounds to greet the neighbors,

and I'm seeing those kinds of year-end scenes
these days.
It's a true story that sounds like a lie,


but even though we've entered the second half of December!
Despite this time of year!!

It was still like this,
keeping its leaves
beautifully colored in autumn hues,

giving me such a happy
welcome.

The autumn colors were beautiful this year,
dyed in such lovely shades,
making it a rare, banner year for autumn foliage.

Since the cold has truly arrived,
most leaves have fallen clean away,
leaving only bare branches.
That's how many maple trees look,

which is their natural state for this time of year.

Was it the year before last?
During a warm winter,
the autumn colors were poor,
turning brown instead of red,
and on top of that, the leaves didn't fall,
but remained withered,

and because of those brown leaves left behind,
I remember getting many calls from customers
asking me to cut down their maples
because they thought they had died,
or asking me to come and take a look.
Having experienced that,

when I saw this year's maple foliage,
my joy was doubled... but to think
that even at the end of the year,

it was waiting for me
in such vibrant colors,
my joy is 100 times greater!!!
Within this single tree,

there is yellow,
there is red,
there is vermilion,
there is crimson,
and the sunlight

is shining down in such a lovely way,
I'm just captivated.

Thank you, maple tree!

I was so happy, I wanted to share it with you all.
Have a wonderful day today too.