quiet little leaves

fern. photo from dougalug on flickr

autumn leaves. julie juratic photo

rainforest leaf

clover leaf patterns. eric knapp photo

it's been raining a lot lately and  i've been so busy, but before the rain and the days of not enough time, i was going for walks with my dog a couple days a week in a park up a hill close to my house. there are lots of paths and it's forested and there are squirrels everywhere and dog-walkers and small black-headed birds with feet that look like tatty matchsticks. i like those walks very much. it was up there, in these woods in the city, that i started noticing the leaves of different plants and how intricate and ornate and complex and poetic they can be... their colors and shapes and patterns— so shyly, so softly brilliant and gorgeous. it is a little heartbreaking that leaves so easily are forgotten—flowers always get all the attention, they seem to trump everything else, they are obvious and devastating and theatrical, like gushing glittery bright clowns, drooping and swaying, hamming it up for the crowds... but leaves are oh-so quiet and discreet... but, i think,  just as dazzling and magical.