Archive for November, 2017

Ginkgo Leaf Drop

Sunday, November 19th, 2017

Cold weather was overdue in Washington, DC, and so it was no surprise to us when an overnight freeze on November 11th hit the ginkgo trees in the neighborhood. A day before the youngest specimens still sported bright summer green. And so the freeze, and the ginkgo specie’s traditional all-at-once leaf dump that followed immediately, created a pile of leaves not of the usual autumn gold, but of this hue:

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A few days later, though, when the oldest trees shed their final bits of raiment, the natural order of things was righted. A tradition was restored.

Sidewalks paved with gold:

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