These two Japanese Maples in front of the house were named after the lions in front of the New York Public Library which got their names from Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia’s observation that Patience and Fortitude were the ideal qualities to be found amongst New Yorkers.
When you’re looking at the facade of the library where the lions guard the entrance along 5th Avenue, Patience is the lion to your left (south) and Fortitude is the lion to your right (north) and as these two trees are also along a south-to-north line and fond memories of wandering round New York City with a camera were fresh in my mind when they were planted as saplings, their names were pretty much a no-brainer! 🙂
There’s no denying that when the real autumn arrives in North Carolina as opposed to the several fake ones where a slight chill is followed by more 70 degreeF days, Fortitude definitely knows how to put on a spectacular display that’s a veritable explosion of red coloured leaves that are absolutely stunning in the sunlight.
That’s not to diss Patience in the slightest as there is a beautiful and rather subtle red tinge to the leaves just before gravity has it’s way with them but when it comes to flat-out flashy and playing to the camera, Fortitude is most definitely the diva amongst the pair of them.
But as with all good things when it comes to the trees round here when the temperatures finally decide to stabilise in the inexorable slide to the frigidity of winter, Fortitude’s leaves in particular are an exceptionally stunning sight to behold for a few weeks.
After three or so weeks of stunning red colour that has no equal in the neighbourhood, the shedding of the leaves is usually quite remarkable in how quickly it happens. One day Fortitude is rocking the most obnoxiously saturated red coloured leaves you’ll ever see and then the next they’re all on the ground waiting for the winds to blow them away or the final run of the mulching mower of the season, whichever occurs first!
And that’s when I can’t help but think of National Lampoon’s Animal House where both Patience and Fortitude are playing the part of Babs Jansen who finds herself in a bit of a pickle having lost her pastel pink outfit during the riot incited by the Deltas in the closing scenes and then the car she was strategically hiding behind suddenly leaves her a bit more exposed than she really wishes to be! 😉
Back in the day after the movie was release, there was a running gag at Universal Studios in Hollywood where you could get a discount if you would “Ask For Babs” at the ticket booth which was honoured for at least a few years. Somehow, I don’t think “Ask For Fortitude” will get you any sort of discount on admission but if you’re thinking it when you’re getting your tickets, we can both smile at the inside joke, eh? 🙂
