A single leaf, the first colorful leaf of autumn, captured for Picture Fall. Most of the trees around here still have green leaves, firmly attached to their branches. The leaves that are on the ground are dead, brown, dull. This one little leaf was the exception – full of color and vibrancy and personality. A leaf ahead of its season.

I enjoyed photographing this one little leaf – capturing the light, the interesting shadows, the contrast of the lines of green moss in between the stones. You should have seen me, down on the ground on the path in the park. Brandon, who is now 9 years old, was quite embarrassed by my behavior. “Get up Mom,” he said, “You look weird.”

I find it ironic, that as I finally get to a place in my self that I don’t care what other people think, that I’m willing to lay down on the pavement in public for the sake of my art, that my son starts to care. Apparently, we are changing seasons in more than one way around here. This single leaf, a harbinger of fall, also has brought the realization that the teen years are, eventually, on their way for my son. Life is nothing, if not interesting, that’s for sure.