going pale

these are silver maple leaves. when people think of fall colors in the north, much of what they pull up in their mind’s eye are the brilliant oranges and reds of sugar maples. silver maples, on the other hand, turn yellow. in a typical year, that looks like a richly hued golden yellow, or even an orangey yellow. but this year, the weirdest year ever for fall colors, our silver maple that hangs over our driveway decided to make a half effort at turning yellow, and then pretty much gave up and let the rest of the color drain from it’s leaves.  it looks like this image is maybe altered–perhaps desaturated, or over brightened. but look closely, the branch is perfectly exposed–the leaves really are this pale.  it is unusual and it is super pretty, those soft yellow leaves catching the slanted autumn light.

silver maples leaves in autumn