Exploring leaf forms and shapes

 I liked how mother nature arranged these 3 little leaves on the bark of the Liquid Amber tree.  This tree gets some spectacular color in its leaves in the Autumn.  More on these leaves, then.

 This is one of my hostas.  The broad leaves of the hosta and the thin leaves of the ferns make a nice combination in the shade garden. 

 This swiss chard is rather pathetic, but it has its own built in contrasts.

New oak leaves on the pin oak.  This tree has good color in the autumn also, so more on it later.
Today was a fine day.  In the morning, from about 10 to 2 I did more weeding and watering.  I have 11 of the 15 germinated lupines transplanted out to the front garden, so far.  I should have room for the other 4 in the front too.  I have a few more hours of weeding to get the front finished and looking good.  The tilth of the soil is getting quite good, with this care and attention.  Some people actually screen their garden soil.  What a great fuss!  But their gardens are show places!  My clay soil is getting fairly nice, at last.  And once plants get established in it, they really grow well, despite my neglect.    There were a couple of butterflies in the garden when I was watering, but no pictures as they did not seem to settle.

The tree

It was a lovely sunny day with big white fluffy clouds. A bit crisp. But just perfect for raking leaves. I have raked up all of them that have fallen, so far. There are still about one quarter of the tree's leaves left to fall.

The three photos above are from a tree that I see out my dining room window. The one with the leaves framing the tree in a sunset is a composite of two photos I shot at the same time. I could not get the background and the foreground to work out in one photo. The leaves are from the tree in my front yard and the tree is about half a mile away.

Cathy H. passed away yesterday, just the day after her mother's funeral. So sad. We won't be going back for the service.

Autumn Leaves, Enter Winter, soon.

My token fallen leaf. Canon S3 IS, date: 05/11/06, 1/160 sec., f/3.5, -0.33 exposure compensation

Canon S3 IS, 1/40 sec., F/3.5, focal length: 72.0mm, Portrait mode to get the good blurry background.

Special fragrances and colors of Autumn

1/25 sec., F/3.5, -0.33 exposure compensation, white balance: cloudy with my Canon S3 IS