Progression of a Tree

I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex and a lovely green tree grows just outside our south window. The sliding glass door/window affords us a lovely view of the tree. I have lived here for awhile and experimented with the macro setting on my camera in an effort to capture the budding of new leaves.

It's amazing to watch the new green burst from the little brown limb-ends, and then to see the tiny little green-life develop into a leaf. Every year I take a new photo or two of the progression, even though it basically happens the same each time.

I remember growing up and always hearing my mom talk about the benefits of a south window and understanding why a south window is so marvelous (at least in the northern hemisphere). My apartment has one of the best south windows in existence and the tree is ideal. In the winter when the sun is farther south, there are no leaves and the sun streams into our apartment. It is not uncommon to see one of us lying on the floor in the warm sunlight during the season. In the summer, as you can see, our tree gets nice and leafy, blocking the extreme sunlight from coming in. It's perfect.