Stop and look

Usually, by this time of year, we've had several weeks of rain and all our deciduous trees are bare. But it's been an unusually dry fall in the Pacific Northwest, so we have the double joy of watching the trees turn colors and shuffling through piles of leaves when we walk; it takes me right back to my childhood.

But there are so many leaves underfoot it took me a while to notice these beautiful circles in the giant maple leaves. I'm sure they don't bode well for the leaves or the trees; probably some fungus or something.

But the closer you look, the more you see each leaf is its own work of art. I think that's probably true of humans as well, though clearly some kinds of art are more pleasing than others. But each is so unique, and so original... imagine, if we all stopped rushing around so much and took the time to (as my momma used to say) "Come, set a spell" what lovely gifts we might discover in one another...