On the Way Out

I've listened to a lot of people talking about how disappointing they found the leaves this Fall.  I did notice in some other places it looked poor, but on Monte Sano, they have been glorious. This view is from just yesterday but the leaves are on the way out.

It's been so pretty this year — and I've been trying to think of the perfect words for this thought that won't leave me alone.  I guess I'm not a poet.  But I wish we humans could find a way to die as beautifully as a leaf does. (I hope that doesn't sound too morbid.)  

As I watch this process unfold in a forest, it is such a wonder.  Leaves gather energy from the Sun all spring and summer.  They shelter the roots from hard rains, die with such beauty and then become mulch and food for the next year — building up soil, inch by inch. It just seems so…perfect.

On the Bankhead Trail in Monte Sano State Park, Huntsville, Alabama.

Nikon D7200 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR

150mm

F8@1/15th

ISO 400

Polarizer

White Balance on Flash

ROD_9848.JPG

©Don Brown 2023