Leaf

A leaf is a blade like structure growing at the end of a stem at the ends of  branches. It provides photosynthesis converting sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into plant food. Canada has the leaf of a maple on the flag. A leaf sprouts in Spring, grows and does its work through Summer and falls to the ground in Autumn. It changes from green to gold, brown, red, orange, yellow and is a sight to see as it completes its cycle of life

I can leaf through a book or filing cabinet meaning kind of looking here and there without really reading much. It is not even scanning where I would try to glean the main points of what is written but just getting a feel for it. Gold leaf is not a plant but a very thin foil made of gold used for gilding a book or picture frame or something that we want to highlight as valuable. It is usually 22 carat gold

A leaf has a central vein and looks like a feather in many ways, all those side veins off the main. The leaf of a yew tree does not have those veins. It is an ancient plant apparently among the first to evolve from ferns. Why that means no veins in the leaves, heck I don’t know. Some leaves sweat oily coatings. Poison Ivy does that and it is the oil on the leaf that contains the part that makes you itch

A table leaf is what we call that extra board that we open up the dining room table to slide into. Makes the table longer. The other kind is a wing to one or both sides of the center, which is the part that has the legs. The wing folds out and is held up by a bracket that folds out under the leaf. There is another kind, where the wing is held up by a leg that swings out. That leaf version is called a gate leg table

Leaves are full of chlorophyll, which has the chloroplasts that actually do the work. They all look green because it includes pigment that absorbs red and blue light. That said, some leaves are other than green, but not many of them. Leaves are the dominant component of the canopy of trees. They give us shade and a place for the birds to hide.

A leaf from my life’s wisdom is to hear a story with a  helpful message.