FOUND LEAVES by guest: Brooke Reynolds

 Brooke Reynolds
I'm by no means a leaf collector, but from time to time I pick one up
and add it to my little collection. They remind me of places I've lived
or visited and I love how they change color as they dry. The ginkgo is
from a tree outside my first New York apartment, when I lived in Hell's
Kitchen. The epimedium leaves are from a photo shoot we did at Martha
Stewart. The tall yellow leaf is from a hike my husband and I took
during our honeymoon in Costa Rica. The Japanese maple is from a nearby
brownstone when we lived in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

I take a leaf now and then and throw them in a big book and forget about
them, and years go by. When I discover them again, tucked in the pages
of various books throughout the house, I can usually remember where they
came from and what was going on when I grabbed it. One is from my
grandfather's funeral, and when I found it recently, I could remember
exactly what the sky looked like that day and how the trees rustled in
the wind. And that is why I keep them around.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes yes yes!!! like your blogg!!

agneta from sweden

Anonymous said...

As with your found valet parking tickets -- this collection is awesome.

Sarah Bradley said...

I really, really love this post.

Anonymous said...

I do the exact same thing! I put them in whatever I have with me at the time, and tend to forget about them. Sometimes they're just too pretty to pass by!

Bri said...

I do that, but with little rocks that I pick up everywhere.

Who knew that ginko grew in NY!?

Vivi said...

Beautiful post.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I had great collections of things, and then I went through this phase where I threw everything out. And I've always regretted it.

Ashley said...

I grew up in the desserts of Arizona. Leaves weren't easy to get my hands on. I'll never forget my first fall in Columbia, Missouri. It was the most vivid, silently powerful moment of my life. I had never found such beauty in nature.

Autumn became magical to me. I plucked the leaves off of the ground, pressed them and sent them back home to desert. I wanted the whole world to experience the leaves that fell so abundantly outside my window.

I loved this post.

Rose said...

Lovely! I tend to pick up leaves on vacation, too. Much better than hunk of plastic.

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