A great enjoyment of mine is to observe trees throughout the season. Living in Nova Scotia trees capture my attention wherever I go. They all seem to be so lush, their leaves so much bigger than what I saw on the prairies. When we first arrived in mid-October last year the maples were turning colour, lining the roads all the way to the AirBnB we were renting for the first few months.
During quarantine our world was limited and I explored the yard every day, rain or shine. Upon closer inspection I noticed big, black spots, reminiscent of polka dots, on the maple leaves that had already floated to the ground. Reading up on this phenomena it confirmed my suspicion that the cause of this condition was due to a fungal infection.
During a short walk with our dogs I passed a maple this week. I moved in with the camera just because I love the density of the foliage. Once I had captured the two images above I saw it: the leaves were covered in yellow spots, some of them already turning brown. Now it is only a matter of time before these morph into the large black dots I photographed last year…
Despite the fact that high humidity and rain are not ideal conditions for shade trees I find beauty in what I dubbed the “polka dot leaves”. I see them through the eyes of the artist: there is so much to discover!
What do you think? Perfection is highly overrated: do you agree or disagree? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below if you are so inclined. Enjoy the last July week! Best wishes, Anna
Fundy Contemplations... 
I’ll admit I was alarmed when the black polka dots appeared on the maple in my yard last year. Like you, I researched it and learned that it’s cosmetic and mostly afflicts Norway maples which are an introduced species. I’m relieved that it doesn’t affect our beautiful native maples. In this case, we get to enjoy both the imperfect beauty of the Norway maple and the classic beauty of our native maples.
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I am glad I am not the only one concerned… Maple trees were familiar to us but their diseases are new to us “come by choice Nova Scotians”.
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