Meadowlark 0031 Today was a beautiful late Spring day in Virginia and Claire suggested we visit Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. Part of the Northern Virginia Park system, the gardens cover 95 acres with a mix of gardens, trees, lakes, gazebos, etc. with an emphasis on native plants and conservation education. One of the areas is dedicated to "Historic Trees". All the trees in this section were propagated from cuttings from trees connected to historical places and people:e.g., a Catalpa from Monticello, a Sycamore from Martin Luther King's church, and even a Pin Oak from Graceland. The tree framing the landscape in this picture is a Red Maple from the Berkley Plantation in Virginia, established in 1619. Besides being the birthplace of a signer of the Declaration of Independence (Benjamin Harrison) and the 9th President (William Henry Harrison), Berkley Plantation is reputed to be the site of the first Thanksgiving (12/4/1619). So I had a nice walk among the gardens, shot several pictures (I will share more in the next few days), and I received a history lesson through trees. I used the Olympus OMD with a 12-50mm@15mm, f9, 1/250s, ISO 200. Note the plaque in the lower left corner for information source.