‘Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.’
~ Emily Brontë, ‘Fall, Leaves, Fall’
Homage to autumn, 1
13 Thursday Oct 2016
Category Archives: leaves
One autumnal day
12 Monday Sep 2016
‘No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.’
~ John Donne, ‘Elegy IX: The Autumnal’, The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose
Leaves on a rainy day
10 Tuesday May 2016
Posted in leaves, nature, nature photography
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Scattered showers peppered the afternoon but I needed some fresh air and exercise so on went the rain jacket and off I went for a stroll around my local park. Here’s what I saw…. Isn’t Mother Nature amazing?
‘It would puzzle a monkey to climb that tree’
16 Saturday Jan 2016
Posted in leaves, nature, nature photography, trees
An 18th-century dignitary reputedly said that it would puzzle a monkey to climb this tree, hence its common name the Monkey puzzle (Araucaria araucana). Whether or not that’s true, it makes a good story, and the tree’s sharp branches and spiky leaves would certainly make its climbing by any creature almost impossible.
The Monkey puzzle’s shape stands out well against the vibrant Lime tree
An evergreen conifer that is native to Argentina and Chile, the Monkey puzzle was introduced to Britain in 1795 by Archibald Menzies, one of a generation of naval officers and plant collectors who brought back all manner of flora and fauna from their global voyages. One of Menzies’ Monkey puzzles survived at Kew for almost a hundred years, until it died in 1892, and the Monkey puzzle was a popular planting in Victorian parks and gardens because of its unique appearance.
The dead branch shows the spiny leaves, and the bark is also quite unique
In Chile, the tree is now a protected species, its population having been severely threatened by human activity, especially the burning of native forests for conversion to agricultural use. The Amerindian tribe, the Araucanos (from whom the tree gets its scientific name), consider the tree sacred, and their assistance and indigenous knowledge are helping to protect the tree for the future.
Scuffing up leaves
10 Thursday Dec 2015
Posted in autumn, birds, leaves, nature, nature photography
For me, one of the great pleasures of late autumn / early winter is scuffing up leaves. Feet clad in hiking boots or wellies, I head out to those areas of park or woodland where the deciduous trees are at their most dense, and I look for the deepest drifts of leaves I can find. And I walk and I kick and I scuff those leaves up, producing little showers of orange and red and gold as the crispy leaves rustle and scrunch and flutter back down to the ground.
I feel sorry for those grumpy adults who frown in my direction, their stern looks chastising me for such undignified behaviour. How sad they are to live such a restricted life, to have forgotten the simple – and free! – pleasure of kicking up a few leaves.
As the winter weather slowly morphs the fallen leaves into a dreary brown sludge, I continue to scuff when I can because those leaves now contain the worms and woodlice and grubs the little birds love to eat. And, if I’m lucky, my scuffing efforts will be rewarded by the sweet serenade of a robin, full-bellied and happy from its snacking.
earthstar 
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