Be the Leaf
2026 is upon us, here’s a thought that may help connect you to the trees.
Three years ago, I took this photo of a tree in Yonkers that inspired this story. Do you see the leaf?
Later I wrote:
A cold, crisp winter’s day. Naked branches against the perfect sky. Miraculously, one lonely leaf clings to an extended branch of a towering 100-year-old oak. It somehow survived last week’s ice storm.
The Internet tells us that such a tree can have up to a million leaves. So, the odds of a leaf being the only one that remains in winter might be a million to one.
What an awesome leaf. Am I the leaf? Again, the Internet proclaims that I have about a 1% chance of living to 100.
Beat the odds. Be the leaf!
* * * *
Appreciate your neighborhood trees. It will improve your life.
Happy New Year!
This story is the eighth in a bimonthly series about trees in Yonkers. If any reader knows of a particular tree that they feel is worthy of an exposé, please contact me through the Yonkers Ledger at phil.zisman@theyonkersledger.com
