"Undulous Leaf Leather"

It is an odd time of year for leaves to fall out of trees. This leaf seems to have been on the edge of dropping for months, which gave it time to dry into a leathery solid sort of reminder of life with a strong undulating form. While I was sitting on  a bench thinking, it landed solidly on my shoulder and slid making a skittering sound to rest on my seat. Every quarter or half an hour another leaf fell solidly in the small sitting area I was spending time in, but the tree above me still held on to a large number of its leaves. Many of those leaves half green and half browning gold holding onto life in a confused state. The tree never got cold enough to make a decisive drop of leaves, so the leaves hang on until they just can't. Until new leaf buds are already forming.