A Glimpse of Autumn

On my way to the Main Public Library to return a DVD of a terrible Debra Winger - Theresa Russell vehicle from the 1980's called "Black Widow"...



...I walked through the Civic Center Plaza.



The summer fog hasn't really lifted quite yet in San Francisco and the metamorphosis into the splendid weather of Autumn certainly hasn't arrived.



The trees that are planted in the Civic Center Plaza are ornamental chestnut trees (thanks for the info, David Barnard), and I've always hated them.



In Northern California, which is filled with trees that don't lose their leaves during the winter, the designers of Civic Center decided on the ornamental chestnuts because that's what they have in Paris, and the buildings in Civic Center are meant to be French Beaux Arts.



The problem is that the chestnuts are deciduous and do lose their leaves. Plus, they look quite grim during the winter with stark, spindly branches, and their depressing appearance is furthered along by an aggressive pruning regimen by the city.



Still, on this particular evening, a blast of light somehow made it through the fog...



...and it illuminated the leaves, some of which were turning an autumnal brown.



So I took a few photos of what looked like a psychedelic leaf show.