Curling Beech Leaves

There are loads of young beech trees in our deciduous Vermont forest. The curling, marcescent leaves catch the sun in a delightful way with patterns of light and shade. I love photographing them. Notice the buds – years ago as a student of landscape design – my professor (who taught plant identification) would give us clues that we could use to help us identify plants. I will always remember his “clue” for identifying beech trees in winter – look for the “cigar-shaped” buds. Funny the things you recall from the past!