Crazy Maurice Stays Up Late

Crazy Maurice is a young tree, and the older trees remind him constantly that he is far too hasty.  The old Oaks on the farm chide Maurice for his conversations with the Fuzzy Guy and the Pretty Lady.  But, now that the Ash trees succumbed to Emerald Ash Borer, our Weeping Willow is rapidly becoming one of the biggest trees on the farm - though he is having trouble trying to catch Runt, the Cottonwood that took root over by the old barn.

If Maurice is truly hasty, you wouldn't know it by how long he chooses to stay awake in the Fall.  Even the Oaks have allowed their leaves to turn fully brown and many have fallen to the ground.  As a matter of fact, Maurice is among the first to wake in the early Spring as well.

The farmers are reasonably observant and they have noticed this pattern with the friendliest tree on the farm.  Since the farmer had some branches and other cuttings to deposit on the nearby Mount Brushmore, he decided to hang out with the willow at the end of a nice day that was full of farm work.

I asked Maurice why he liked getting up early and staying up late.... (remember, a tree stays awake 24 hours a day and 7 days a week during the warm months before entering a long slumber in the Winter).

Maurice usually has many words for me and he likes collecting new human words from me as well.  But, this particular evening he said one word.

"Look."

I turned and this is what I saw.

And I stood there in companionable silence with a tree that is early to rise and late to slumber - admiring artwork presented that evening on the planet Earth.

Then it struck me.  I had done the same thing with the old Oaks a few days prior.  While they grow sleepy a bit faster than Maurice, they are still awake enough to rustle appreciatively as they, too, admire the colors this world has to offer.

The oaks and the willows know.  Late October and early November in Iowa provides a canvas that is worth staying up for.

I believe I'll spend a little more time absorbing lessons from the trees in the coming year.  I would say it holds a fair bit of promise.