ƒ/1.68 • 1/255 • 6.9mm • ISO70
October 26, 2026
The Shifted Balance
The weight has left the empty crown,
No longer held against the sky;
The timber lays its burden down,
Without a backward glance or sigh.
From yesterday the balance turned,
To settle softly on the floor;
Where once the branch had brightly burned,
The earth now keeps what timber bore.
An even trade from high to low,
A forward march through autumn frost;
Content with what the seasons show,
Where nothing in the change is lost.
A study of late-October ground cover as the canopy balance decisively shifts to earth. A solitary sugar maple leaf rests flat against the forest floor, its amber hue holding form while the surrounding carpet begins to curl and soften into winter mulch.
Field Notes: Ground-level macro perspective captured on mobile, isolating the flat symmetry of the central leaf against the textured fall of the forest floor with a shallow plane of focus.