never never never never give up*

About a week ago, I was walking around our neighbourhood, and came upon this dead leaf.

(Here in Texas, we don't have groves of autumnal trees that turn magnificent jewel shades before they majestically shed their leaves into a vibrant carpet.  Here in Texas, the leaves just turn brown and fall off.)

I was quite taken by this leaf (as evidenced by the fact that I took a photo of it), because even though it was dead, it was practically perfect:  just the tiniest of broken edges, no holes in the middle, no bug bites or scars.  Perfect.

It's like it lived fully and completely until it died.

(There's a lesson there, I suspect.)

* A quote often attributed to Winston Churchill.  That pretty much sums it up, don't you think?

Image:  Photographed with my Nikon D300 and 60mm micro lens.

Song:  Freedom by George Michael