Already the torrid tale of summer is reaching its fiery conclusion as it consumes itself totally in the furnace of Andaluciá.
These faint yellows are the beginning of the withdrawal of nutrients back into the main stem. They will become the sustenance for the tree during the short leafless winter here.
Soon all that remains will be the waste products of that deeply alchemical process we call photosynthesis.
These are the yellows, reds and golds that will grace the coming fall.
In the somewhat weakened state of this leaf, small black spots of fungus start to multiply, beginning that other great autumnal change; decay and renewal.
The great wheel turns once more upon the mountain.
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Photo: Willow leaf at Saladaviciosa. Courtesy of the author.
