Leafs

(I took all these pictures my self 2 Sunday's ago.)

I got locked out of my apartment today so I sat outside under a tree and did some reading. My mind started to wander to the tree I was perched beneath. (can you be perched beneath something?) I often walk by a tree and pick a leaf to observe as I make my way to class or church or whatever, and I have always wondered if all leaves from the same tree are alike. To my eyes they appear to be exactly the same As it turns out, they aren't. Just like snowflakes and people, there are no two leaves alike. It would be obvious to a tree-lover that two leaves came from the same tree, but upon closer inspection one will discover that the notches, or edges, or little vein things in the middle are slightly different.

My next question was, so why exactly do trees lose their leaves anyway? I'm sure I learned it in like 4th grade, but I was thinking about it again today. As the days get shorter, the trees are no longer getting the same amount of energy from the sun as they do in the Spring and Summer. So in order for the whole tree to survive, it cuts off nutrients from the leaves and stores those nutrients and energy in its trunk and branches. The leaves must fall in order for the whole of the tree to survive. (Interesting that they are called LEAVES, because that's what they do; leave the tree).

The beautiful thing is, the tree stores its energy so IT doesn't die, so that it can bring forth leaves again in the Spring. The leaves make a sacrifice for the tree, and essentially mankind. If the leaves refused to fall, the trees wouldn't have enough energy to sustain them, and therefore die. If all deciduous trees died, there wouldn't be enough energy and oxygen to keep us all alive. What a beautiful process huh! It makes me wonder how much I'm willing to sacrifice in order for something else bigger and better to stay alive. It also adds support to what I already knew: that when I fall, there are better days ahead, there is hope to be born again in the Spring.