The thing that makes these images so interesting is that they take us back to seeing the essence and unique quality of even the most ordinary things in nature. When I was a child it could sometimes take me hours to get home from school.

It's wonderful that you can find serenity and purity in dead leaves. They look so clean!

beautiful. we were walking in the frosty hills and the children had to stop and photograph the icy leaves on the ground, they were so exquisite. x

Thanks all, for appreciating my passion for looking closely at things, especially on the ground!

The first two leaves are surrounded by bubbles ... very nice! Leaves and bubbles aren't usually seen in such close proximity.

Rouchswalwe, those bubbles do add a nice touch, don't they? I'm still a bit curious abut them. Being on a driveway, did the bubbles come from the vehicles that drove across melted snow and ice and then refroze?

Perhaps the explanation is a simple one ... the leaves are a bit tipsy ...

Rouchswalwe, yeah, hee, hee, hic! Have you been sharing some of your brew around?

Sure have ... but after the last bottle we shared, we all sat around the table with serious looks and made the difficult decision to wait several weeks more for the Porter to develop into an even better brew. Patience. Patience.

I love the simplicity of these, each shape discrete and defined.

R, wish I could come and sample some of your brews.

Lucy, thank you.

So beautiful. There's a purity here that goes to the very essence of "leaf."

Beth, merci beaucoup!

Fabulous pictures, Marja-Leena, almost crackling with life preserved as art.

Natalie, thanks for your wonderfully expressive comment!