Sycamore leaf and clouds
As the calendar year draws to a close, here’s another (but probably not final) look at some color from the last part of 2012. You’re seeing the leaf of a sycamore tree, Platanus occidentalis, a species in which saplings often hold their initial leaves upright. I took this photograph in a dry portion of the bed of Bull Creek on November 26. Had the water been flowing there then, this new sycamore probably wouldn’t have survived. Happy emblem to you all as we prepare for the one-way crossing of the creek that separates 2012 from 2013.
© 2012 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Happy New Year, Steve. Thanks for the yearful of great, inspiring pictures.
judy
December 31, 2012 at 7:42 AM
Thanks for your comment, Judy. A Happy New Year to you, too, and may the inspiration continue.
Steve Schwartzman
December 31, 2012 at 8:02 AM
Happy New Year Steve. Honestly you can make even one leaf beautiful.
petspeopleandlife
December 31, 2012 at 9:56 AM
Happy New Year to you, too, Yvonne. Sometimes it’s easier to deal with one leaf than with a bunch of them.
Steve Schwartzman
December 31, 2012 at 10:20 AM
Thanks for a wonderful year of your lovely photos that inspire me to look closer at the beauty of the world. I wish you the best of the season and hope you have a wonderful New Year.
Nancy
December 31, 2012 at 10:57 AM
All the same to you, Nancy. Here’s to many more looks at nature.
Steve Schwartzman
December 31, 2012 at 10:59 AM
HAPPY NEW YEAR !! ♥
Mathilda
December 31, 2012 at 11:06 AM
Dein erster Kommentar auf Englisch!
Steve Schwartzman
December 31, 2012 at 11:14 AM
have you considered doing a calendar?
Margie Roe
December 31, 2012 at 5:46 PM
I have thought about a calendar. I’ve also been thinking about a series of e-books, and in fact have begun working on a few prototypes. Thanks for asking.
Steve Schwartzman
December 31, 2012 at 5:52 PM
Happy New-Year Steve. This leaf is a beauty, it seems it’s flying through the blue sky.
chatou11
January 1, 2013 at 12:52 PM
Your comment about flying reminded me of a punning line from Apollinaire’s “Zone”:
“Ils crient s’il sait voler qu’on l’appelle voleur.”
I’m glad you like this picture that I’ve “stolen” from nature.
Steve Schwartzman
January 1, 2013 at 1:12 PM
Funny that you used the word “emblem”. At first glance, any Canadian would have thought of their maple leaf – not because of the leaf itself but because of the presentation.
And I’m glad to see that mention of e-books and such. That seems like a very good idea.
shoreacres
January 2, 2013 at 7:05 AM
I also thought about the Canadian flag when I got this post ready, although I don’t remember having that association when I took the picture.
I heard on Book-TV the other day that e-books outsold hardcover books in the United States in 2012. I also heard that the number of titles has now reached three million a year, thanks to all the e-publishing and self-publishing. As a consequence, making people aware that you exist and that you’ve maintained high standards is quite a challenge. Still, there’s nothing for it but to plow in.
Steve Schwartzman
January 2, 2013 at 7:19 AM
You might be interested in this post on publishing. It’s an interesting perspective on all the “free” books that are out there, and reminds me of the hard lessons I had to learn about pricing while I was building my business.
shoreacres
January 2, 2013 at 8:46 AM
Thanks for the link to that article. Here’s the comment I left there:
“Let me play reading devotee’s advocate and ask whether we’re not already guilty of giving lots away by having a blog, which is almost by definition a place where we put up our words (and in my case also photographs) for free. When I started my etymology blog in 2010 and nature photography blog in 2011, it was at least partly with the idea of building an audience for several books I’d already put together, hadn’t been able to find a conventional publisher for, and hoped to release in electronic form. I’m currently at work on recasting some of my material as e-books, but even then I’ve thought I might make a sampler available for free in order to spur interest in the other books that I would charge (a nominal amount) for. These are my thoughts for now; experience will confirm the correctness or futility of my plans.
“Let me add that having a blog has proved to be fun in its own right (and the player with language would add that it’s its own rite). I’ve gotten to “meet” people from around the world, exchange comments with them, and see what their lives are like. I think few of us would be willing to pay for those experiences, but they’re still worth while.”
Steve Schwartzman
January 2, 2013 at 9:50 AM
Julie Goldberg wrote a detailed response that may interest you and other readers.
Steve Schwartzman
January 2, 2013 at 1:02 PM
Funny, that was my first thought too, Linda. 😉
Lynda
January 2, 2013 at 7:19 AM
This is a great (near) finish photo for fall. I am encouraged that you are considering publishing some of your work! It deserves a greater audience, Steve.
Lynda
January 2, 2013 at 7:21 AM
Thanks for your vote of confidence, Lynda. It’s no longer hard to get something published in electronic form, but as you heard me say in my comment, the difficulty is standing out and not being swept away in the tidal wave of new publications. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Steve Schwartzman
January 2, 2013 at 7:41 AM
I like these colors !
Guillaume
January 10, 2013 at 1:51 PM
Auspicious colors for a new year.
Steve Schwartzman
January 10, 2013 at 2:00 PM
An original leaf !
GuillaumeGuillaume
January 14, 2013 at 1:52 PM
I like original views. (J’ai changé sheet à leaf; chaque mot est une traduction possible de feuille, mais ici leaf est la bonne traduction. Par contre, on dit a sheet of paper.)
Steve Schwartzman
January 14, 2013 at 2:04 PM
Thank you for the correction !
GuillaumeGuillaume
January 14, 2013 at 2:11 PM
[…] This Turkish phrase means ‘sycamore leaf,’ so let’s give credit to the search engine not only for translating that into English but also finding my blog post. […]
A new round of frolicking with search criteria | Portraits of Wildflowers
January 1, 2014 at 6:23 AM
[…] If you’d like a retro-bonus, you can go back to a post from two years ago and have a close look at what one of these seed globes looks like when it comes undone. You can also revisit the remnants of a seed ball in a creek alongside a sparkling array of bubbles. And if you really want to make good on the more in sycamore, you can see one of its leaves changing color and rising into a wispy-cloud sky as an emblem of autumn. […]
Sycamore seed balls and drying leaf | Portraits of Wildflowers
January 26, 2014 at 6:04 AM