Riding in Circles

Red Maple Flowering as winter turned to spring, Prospect Park

You don't get anywhere riding in circles in Prospect Park, but getting somewhere isn't the point of every bike ride. I ride in the park to train primarily, and after hundreds of laps through the years, the loop is like an old friend. Now that I garden though, rides have another purpose and there are certain trees I keep an eye out for through the seasons. Here's one from this year: A Red Maple (Acer rubrum), one of the earliest blooming trees as winter gave way to spring this year (March 20th), and again, this week as the leaves on that same early bloomer are changing and falling.