Annalia S.'s photos with the keyword: leaves

Public use bikes parked by the tram line stop at the Cascine Park. I wanted a tram car in the picture too, but by the time the tram got there, the light was gone :( That's autumn weather for you! HFF and may you have great light all weekend long!

Looking across the River Arno at the Anconella Park as Autumn begins to deploy its warm palette.

Like many here, I think about you often, Andy, and check on Isabel's news on your progress first thing after I log in. Today, I went through my images to find one that would help me show what goes on in my thoughts when I think of what you, and your family along with you, are going through. As photographers, we know full well that darkness has its uses, and its lures. But we also know that, just as light needs darkness to define its contours, so too darkness is nothing without light to show its edges. And light is waiting for you, Andy, just beyond the rim of your closed lids: you have been resting in darkness for a long time now and it’s time to remember, as a much better photographer than I will ever be once told me, that “it’s all about the light”. Let the light in, let it give you back your days, your loves and your loved ones, your zest for life that we miss so much. Your body took a beating, and perhaps a bit more rest might still be needed to build back its strength after the terrible battle it fought, but now you must try to put the memory of that terror behind you and let light do its magic, just like it does in so many of the pictures we all love. We are all waiting, along with you, Andy, for that moment when the first light breaks through and brings the world back out of the shadows.

Today Italy remembers its pandemic victims. The date was not chosen at random: on this day, a year ago, a convoy of army trucks filled with caskets took away the bodies of those who had lost their lives to Covid from Bergamo because its morgue could no longer handle them. (A photo of the convoy moving through Bergamo's empty streets is published here: tg24.sky.it/politica/2021/03/18/draghi-bergamo-giornata-nazionale-vittime-covid ) A reminder of how the virus caught us unprepared and overwhelmed us. Until recently, Italy was one of the countries with the highest life expectancy in the world. Perhaps a combination of diet, life style, genes, I don't know, but it was not uncommon any more for people, women especially, to live into their 90s. My own mother was a few months short of 93 when she passed away, her second sister reached the age of 92 and the youngest sister just turned 90 this year. Until the pandemic struck she was still an active woman, drove her car (in Naples' hectic traffic, mind you!) went to fetch her grandchildren from school and donated her work to a charitable institution for disabled children. Now, of course, she's confined at home, hoping the vaccine will come and allow her a bit more freedom of movement. My aunt is one of the lucky ones, though. Today we mourn all the ones, young and old, that the pandemic took from us: not only the 103,432 who died from confirmed covid, but also those who were not tested, those who did not receive proper care because the hospitals were/are overwhelmed, and those who could not overcome the sadness, the loneliness, the loss of their livelihood. Today is for mourning, Tomorrow we must try and do better at protecting ourselves and those around us. This thing will not be over until it's over for everyone.

Just a few leaves still hanging on, before Winter really got down to business. I liked the morning light playing amongst them.

Fallen leaves on a path on the river banks.

I was a bit late catching the bright yellow fall livery of the fig tree, but it still made a nice splash in the slanting light. In the pip: the fallen fig leaves

We have not had really cool temps yet and the leaves are just starting to turn. So this was my first opportunity to catch some autumn color!

One of the first autumn leaves I noticed , sitting next to what remains of the yellow painting marking a parking spot reserved for people with disabilities, each showing, in its own way and time frame, the wear and tear of passing time. I didn't have my camera with me, so this is from my smartphone.

Dead evergreen leaves blown off by the wind catch the last of the day's sunlight on the garden path.

Most of us think of autumn when we see fallen leaves, but actually a lot of trees and bushes, especially evergreens, shed their leaves much like we shed our hair: gradually and all year round. So, here are some spring fallen leaves under our rusty old fence, close to the hole our feline friend Dante used when he came visiting. This should be the last "strict confinement" HFF for Italians and hopefully next week you will not get treated to ever more desperate attempts to make our backyard fences interesting ... ;)

Light and shadow on the iris leaves. Can you pick the "odd man" out? I left it in the frame because I liked the notion that Nature can never be made to completely fit our standards.:) Have a good Sunday, everyone!

Colorful details from the garden In the main image a tiny bronze coloured bug on my rose bush In the pips (top to bottom): 1. fallen physalis flowers 2. a rue twig against a terracotta shingle 3. new green leaves against the old shed wall 4. new green leaves composition 5. trio of pink flowers 6. fig leaves unfolding

some details around the garden that I thought would do well in black and white.

Looking up at my neighbour's tree beginning to fill out its canopy with new leaves and blossom clusters tall enough to reach up into the evening sunlight.

Just more fooling around in the garden with the empty snail shells and the new leaves.

Just playing around with the empty shells of snails that don't make it through the winter. Photography helps to keep me sane even in the small, enclosed world that is our lot during this lockdown. Sorry if the subject matter is a bit repetitive, though. :) A big thank you to all of those who continue to contribute their images and comments and help us "captives" get through this rough time!

Spring is by far my favorite time of the year and being confined at home at this time is undeniably a bummer. But really I should not complain, since I am one of the lucky ones who have a garden where I can still enjoy glimpses of Nature's awakening. Here's a still life of the colorful finds I collected in the garden yesterday. Have a good week, everyone.