September 27, 2012 -- black sweet gum leaves

I did all sorts of things to try to spruce this up--put it on a tile, added goldenrod, added a red pepper, but, in the end I liked this best--just a black vase with a sprig of black sweet gum leaves in it. I found the leaves on a sweet gum growing along the Ashland railroad tracks. Their undersides (a smoky olive green) are as interesting as their almost-black upper surfaces.