Autumn arrives softly, a whisper of surrender, the gentle truth that life must let go so that life may return. I watch a single leaf linger, still holding to its branch, its veins aglow with a final blaze of colour, as if it longs to be remembered. At last it loosens, drifting down in silence, to rest among others who have fallen before—together they soften the earth, a quiet carpet of fading fire. It feels like a gift, this last offering of beauty, given freely, before the world grows bare. And as I stand still, breathing in the hush of the season, I sense the circle turning—what dies now is not lost, but waiting, patient for the spring to come.

Captured at Mount Macedon Memorial Cross Reserve, Mount Macedon, Victoria, Australia.