Maple

A fallen maple leaf in Stewart Park.  It brings to mind what Blake said about seeing "the universe in a grain of sand," but in this instance it was like discovering the fleeting essence of an entire autumn abbreviated and crystallized in one wayward leaf. 

Autumn is here

This was Stewart Park late last fall.  This autumn seems to be arriving a bit earlier, but after the summer we have had in Missouri, who isn't ready for it?