Barb wanted to do more than a single Christmas entry per year so here I am to talk a bit about our garden. The tree pictured is an Eskimo Sunset Sycamore, which is a member of the Maple family. I love trees and sort of collect them, but have run out of space to plant them. I bought this online about 4 years ago and planted it in the back yard in a place where it didn’t really have room to grow. We subsequently cut down an old apple tree on our front lawn and tried to replace it with a Coral Bark Japanese Maple and then a Plum Tree, both of which did not survive for various reasons. Finally we decided to move this one out there to see how it would do and it is very happy. The tree was originally a cutting of a branch that was rooted. This meant that it was too thin for its height and was not very strong or stable. After being moved to a sunny spot, it has become much more sturdy and has bushed out to look really healthy. The thing that makes it so beautiful is that it has variegated leaves on one side while the backs of them and the stems are a pinkish to ruby red colour. From a distance, it has a slightly yellowish colour mixed with a deep red from leaves turning in the wind. It truly is a thing of beauty.