Perfectly pleated

I walked up the hill and into the woods before lunch - a quick forty minutes enjoying the many plants and flowers alongside the lane and the shifting, dappled light in the wood. Although I walk this way so often, at this time of year I always return home with far more photos than I have time to sort and choose from. Today, despite the exquisite Queen Anne's Lace in the hedgerow, the new green canopy above the gnarled old tree trunks on the hilltop, the waving grass in the meadow and the log bench cut from a fallen trunk which has appeared beside the woodland track, I've chosen the pleated perfection of newly unfolded hazel leaves in the hedge beside the lane. I love their geometric symmetry, the russet colour of the smallest, most creased leaves, and the tiny serrations which catch the light. 

This brings me up to date, for the first time in a while, though I still have a lot of browsing to catch up with; but we have a busy week ahead, so it may not last long.