Rain at the wrong time, not enough cold snap; our autumn colors have not been so spectacular this year.

But we have one little Japanese maple that always comes through for us in the colors department. We brought it up from Connecticut as a seedling some time in the '70s and toed it in by the side of the house while we decided where we'd put it. And forgot about it.

In those 30 years it has grown as high as the house, and obscures half our driveway. And the colors are the reason we keep it.

Eventually, all the leaves will turn red, dry up and fall off. But this week, we have leaves in the red stage, the yellow stage and the green.