This summer we had an infestation of gypsy moth caterpillars in this part of New England. The little buggers were especially partial to oak leaves, and left the oak trees in some neighborhoods almost completely defoliated. Other trees were more mildly affected, whether by the gypsy moth caterpillars or other critters. Come fall, the leaves that fell from these trees displayed a range of damage, sometimes creating quite fascinating designs in the remaining bits of leaves.
Yup, I’m definitely not done with leaves. Here are 3 very different leaves that caught my eye this fall.
This bright leaf found its trip to the ground interrupted by the grating of a large bird cage. I loved the bold sections of contrasting color, and the way the leaf glowed in the sunlight.
While it doesn’t have vibrant colors, I found the curl of this dry leaf to be quite appealing.
This brightly painted leaf was all the more appealing for having landed itself on a swirling canvas of floating algae.
This is a series of photos I took during a visit to the zoo 2 years ago. The late afternoon sun was creating remarkably sharp shadows on this boulder, perfectly projecting the shadows of the kids and their friends as they playfully threw leaves at each other.
This seems to have been an especially good year for caterpillars, because I’ve noticed that almost all of the leaves that fall (as well as those still up in the trees) have quite a few holes or other evidence of having been munched. In spite of these flaws, I still find the leaves to be quite beautiful. Many of the holes even add to their character. (This is not the first time I’ve made that observation.)
An orange leaf (or what’s left of it), outlined in red.
This leaf was thoroughly munched before falling to rest on the thick carpet of moss.
The bright orange and red leaves tend to steal the show, but bright green and yellow leaves can still be quite eye-catching. (It was the colors more than the holes that caught my eye with this fellow.)
I like the way the mottled surface and holes of this bright red leaf echo the patterns of the rocks in the asphalt.
This graceful oak leaf has tiny holes spread out over its surface.
The holes in this oak leaf look quite lacy.
After taking this photo a few days after the photo above, I realized that it was almost certainly the same leaf that caught my eye again. (If you mentally flip it over, you can see the same shapes in the holes.) It’s interesting to see how the color of the leaf continued to change after falling on the ground.
I am not the only one who enjoys finding interesting leaves. Also, notice the funny ring of green around a hole in this leaf.
collecting tokens 