Cold weather was overdue in Washington, DC, and so it was no surprise to us when an overnight freeze on November 11th hit the ginkgo trees in the neighborhood. A day before the youngest specimens still sported bright summer green. And so the freeze, and the ginkgo specie’s traditional all-at-once leaf dump that followed immediately, created a pile of leaves not of the usual autumn gold, but of this hue:
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A few days later, though, when the oldest trees shed their final bits of raiment, the natural order of things was righted. A tradition was restored.
Sidewalks paved with gold:
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