HANGERS ON

Oaks, for some reason, seem to hang on to their leaves much longer than their counterparts of other species in the forest. It is not unusual to see the leaves still attached well into the winter or early Spring.
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This is White Oak (Quercus alba) and the wind is clearly blowing them around....yet they persist as most of the rest of the trees have already dropped the bulk of their leaves. In Wisconsin, that transition from leaved to bare, cascades from north to south. 
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In the far north, all but the oak have dropped their leaves; in the middle of the cline (around here) it's about 50/50; in the southern cline lots of leaves are still attached. We're having very mild November weather so far with temperatures expected to reach the low 70s F. (low 20s C.) today.  That changes tomorrow as a cold front arrives from Canada (Canadians love to share their cold weather with their southern brethren) and brings plenty of wind and a ton of rain.  That should do in a lot of the "hanger on" leaves statewide.
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Heading to the track at 11:00 Hrs. to photograph the dedication of the newly repaved track surface. Lots of dignitaries and a pace car are likely to make an appearance.  They never make it easy on me so I have to take along every camera/lens combination I have to be sure all the bases are covered.
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Best viewed in Large.  BTW....wouldn't this shot make a nifty jigsaw puzzle?