The Color of Winter (冬之色)

Yesterday came as a big surprise to me. I have heard from others that there's a nice place for a leisurely stroll in the countryside. I went there. When I first started, there were not too many people on the tar mac . But as the day wore on, it became more and more crowded. I found whole troops of learner photographers, equipped with cameras of different brands, their huge lenses dangling in front of their undulating stomaches and their tripods at their side. There were young girls all made up and dressed in what they considered their best costume walking by the side of their camera-armed boy friends. There were also men of all ages, in their safari outfits, in jerseys and wind breakers, in track suits and sports shoes, either alone or with two or three of their photo buddies, all walking purposefully towards some destination or other, I sensed that there must be something good ahead of me, awaiting me. When I turned a corner and saw a group of photographer crouching down, straining their necks, their bodies twisted and contorted in all kinds of impossible postures but all looking up, I knew what was the common cause of their un-cordinated and yet convergent odyssey: maple leaves. I went to Tai Tong Country Park in Yuen Long.It was my very first visit there.

There were leaves in light yellow

leaves with deeper yellowish hues

leaves turning red

leaves in various shades of red

Some were just starting to change from color green

Green and yellow leaves by each others' side

Their shadows fall on each other under the sun

Some were already worm eaten

Some had red dots or patches amongst their yellow

Others had green veins amidst the red

Some occur in big clusters

Others in smaller clusters

Some look as if they were phosphorescent under the sunlight

Some had the fluff of nearby wind-borne seed upon the edges of their leaves

Some stood all alone

Another one standing alone

Some stood amidst a background of green

Some had the shadows of their neighbor upon them

The sun etched their edges with gold

Some stood against a background of green and orange

Other stood in the shadows with occasional patches of yellow

The sun shone on its surface making obliterating any details upon it

They form all kinds of patterns upon each other

Some were completely red

like these two remaining leaves

Some stood alone against a background of green and red

The green, yellow, orange and red can occur all at the same time

Some look desolate in the shade

Others retain their resilence despite the shade

The color of some of them look really delicate



Some seem to blend so naturally with their neighbor's

The color of others are really warm as fire

I like the richness of the patterns they form

They're so intricate that I don't think human beings can even get within a million miles of them.

Look at this one with various shades of green yellow, orange and red with all kinds of shapes including even empty form!

I never tire in looking at them

Ah, the wonder of the colors of winter !