Welcome to the first day of November! I hope you all have a lovely Halloween. I sheperded teenage boys through our dark, dark streets in search of the much-desired candy loot. I could tell you it’s enough to last until Christmas, but you know it will not. Not in this house. There is no frugality when it comes to sweet treats here!
Please enjoy these delightful and varied leaves. A surprising entrant made a strong and diverse appearance that I was not expecting! The Croton (Codiaeum variegatum)! Not to be confused with the salad accessory known as croutons. This diverse plant is from the spurge family and enjoys a warm, moist climate with dappled light.
These first two pictures (above and below) are from the same Croton plant! By Dinahmow, https://moreidlethoughts.wordpress.com/
This one looks like a Toucan bird.
This collection of three is also provided by Dinah Mow. I like to think she had a fun fashion shoot with her Croton plants. https://moreidlethoughts.wordpress.com/
New growth and some “spoons”
Dinah can correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe all the above Crotons have Australian accents as they reside in Australia.
Not to be outdone though, we’ve got this Croton beauty from Southern Florida, thanks to Lisa Troute!
Croton Leaves, no two alike. Florida, USA Lisa Troute
Continuing up the East Coast of the United States, Welcome to New York! Where Kerfe Roig gives us a quick walk through the leaves of Central Park.
Leaves of Central Park, NY, Kerfe Roig, https://methodtwomadness.wordpress.com/
I recognize oak, sycamore, and one green aspen leaf on the right, but what is the red one below it?
Now we head to Colorado, USA.
Tracy says: We were hiking to Eaglesmere Lake and it was slow-going as I kept stopping to photograph leaves that looked bejeweled by raindrops. We ended up missing our turn and didn’t make it to the lake that day, but it was a glorious hike.
Aspen leaves on trail to Eaglemeres Lakes, White River National Forest, Colorado, Sept 28, 2021, Tracy Abell, https://tracyabell.com/blog/
I could tell you that I really like Aspen trees, but I really like a lot of trees for one reason or another. It’s fascinating that a group of aspen trees can be a colony of one single organism. Search the term “Pando” the Trembling Giant for more info.
Jumping across the big pond known as the Atlantic Ocean we head to merry old England…
Red Oak (Quercus rubra) at Blickling Hall, North Norfolk, England – 22 October 2022. IDV (Inexplicable Device) inexplicabledevice.blogspot.com
Just beyond this nice cluster of oak leaves looks like a nice spot for a picnic. If we’re lucky, maybe there are some blueberries left on IDV’s blueberry plant below.
Blueberry (Vaccinium somethingorother) at Hexenhäusli Device, North Norfolk, England – 27 October 2022. IDV (Inexplicable Device) inexplicabledevice.blogspot.com
Such a brilliant shade of red!
Back to the United States again for Mistress Maddie, who never disappoints and provides us with a big, beautiful, big Bigleaf Maple leaf. Honestly, the Scientists who came up with the common naming convention of the Bigleaf Maple weren’t feeling particularly creative that day. I might have called it a “Bearpaw Maple” if it were up to me. That’s 20% more creative, I think.
Bigleaf Maple leaf, New Hope, PA, USA. Mistress Maddie (making me do all the work for this photo caption, tsk tsk) http://mistressmaddie.blogspot.com/
I’ve put Patricia to work in providing us with wonderful poems to close out our monthly Photo Submissions. Like all of you who so generously provided pictures for this one, she also receives my love and gratitude (and when she takes a plane to visit me a coffee to boot!) More important than my love and gratitude though is that you get out there and enjoy the bounty of nature! The beauty of nature is all around us for those who make time to look for it!
I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!
Taken on a street by the Old Redmond School House, Redmond, WA. USA. circa 2016. By Patricia Lezama
Embedded messages.
She loved him, until he lost his last leaf.
Silently she watched it fall, golden and light, resting on the pavement.
She stared at it, then she cried.
How much beauty there is in farewells, she told him.
And she could see how her tears remained undaunted on the fallen leaf.
Breathe and feel the sound she heard.
The stillness of the water becomes a lens to decipher messages from other lands, embedded in the leaf blade.
Thirst is quenched slowly.
Listen to the drops.
Thirst does not exist, she observes.
It is said that she fell asleep hugging the roots of the grandfather tree.
And that in the silence of her dream, he cracked a smile, from which the first leaf of the next season sprouted.
November: Fungi/Mushrooms
Due: November 30th
Pictures will be posted on December 1st.
December: Nature at rest
Due: December 31st
Pictures will be posted on January 1st.
Photo Submissions
Email to: natureledlife@gmail.com
Subject line: Photo Submission for [month] (Multiple months of photos in one email is fine.)
Image: Attached as a .JPEG or .PNG file
Captions for each picture:
Subject in the photo, State/Providence & Country, Date (optional). Your name as you want it to appear, Your blog link (if you have one)
(This will save me so much time and reduce errors if I can copy and paste the photo details and not hunt for blog links, preferred names, etc.)
Feel free to add any interesting notes about a picture. I love stories and learning! Let me know if it’s just a story for ‘my eyes only’ or if I can share any part of it along with the photo.
Thank you!
The Nature-led Life 