Capturing Autumn

Autumn is well upon us. The rains have arrived and with them the wind. As late as two weeks ago the leaves were still intact on the ground, looking as if they’d just fallen from the tree. I managed to collect a few then, but the cycle has now turned and most of the leaves are turning to mulch. The fallen leaves must harbour insects, as there was a carpet of small birds under the walnut tree yesterday, picking through the leaves, a shifting and heaving mass of tiny bodies.

What I love about fall is the sudden appearance of different leaf shapes and colours. When everything is green we don’t really think about leaves–they’re just there and they provide shade when needed. But when autumn comes around, and the leaves change colour, suddenly we’re more interested in them. They become more distinct–an alder here, a maple there. I want to gather them all up and press them to bring out in the middle of winter, a flash of colour in the dreary depths of the season.

Our autumn isn’t like it is in the east, where people take holidays to see the changing colours. Here it happens much faster, blink and you’ll miss it. When we were in the Rockies in September it was peak larch season: the larch blazing yellow against the deep green of the surrounding forest. Busloads of tourists flocked to Moraine Lake for the best views.

I’m lucky I can gather all these leaves in my own yard–no trip to Moraine Lake with a million other visitors is required. I like to think I’ve kept autumn going a bit longer with my photos.

Rusty yellow alder leaf.

Giant catalpa leaf. These are one of my favourites.

Dogwood

Norway maple – this one was almost too dry for the pic. They fell early and degraded fast.

Pin oak. Love the classic shape of an oak leaf.

Aspen – so distinct you can almost hear the leaves rustling in the breeze.

Burgundy Japanese maple, some of my favourite trees. We have two of them and they brighten up the garden with a carpet of leaves on the green grass.

The smallest leaf I collected: willow. About 1/200th size of the catalpa leaf.

Another Japanese maple, this time a blush pink one. You can see hints of its original colour on the leaf tips.

Relative size and pattern of my favourite leaves. Though I do like the catalpa leaf, but when it’s greener rather than blotchy brown.

Give a sense of just how big the catalpa leaf is – it can hold all of the others in its leafy palm.

Again with the big catalpa leaf, fascinating mix of colours and shapes. The Norway maple leaf is so obviously dried out next to the others. And the Japanese maple leaves are similar but different. The willow leaf is almost lost in the image, at the bottom left. I love the serrated edges of the alder leaf.