The first few photos in this batch are super significant for me, because they're of a plant that I've kept alive for four years. FOUR YEARS. All by myself! Anyone who knows me well understands the joke that if I buy anything at the nursery, it's screaming all the way out the door, "Noooo! Don't let her take me! She's a serial killer!" So I have a bit of a black thumb. But when my brother moved to the DC area, he bequeathed me this plant. I love it for sticking with me all these years; it proves that I'm not completely incapable of keeping a plant alive. Side note: the intricacy of the pattern blows my mind. So many teeny tiny lines, as though an artist painstakingly drew each and every one. I miss so much beauty because I'm not paying attention.  

And here's what I found on my morning walk.

Finally, I cannot let the "leaf" theme pass without posting a few images from my first ever trip to New England in the fall. I'd heard how beautiful the foliage was, but never could've grasped the magnitude of it without actually being there. If you're hungry for more, the original blog posts on that trip are herehere and here