It had been a stormy night, and about 80% of the acer tree leaves had fallen. The leaf waste was peculiarly bunched up under the tree (rather than blown asunder by the storm) and looking at it, my first impression was of that old favourite, the famous "fractal symmetry". Evenly spread gold and brown colours carpeted the ground. Another peculiarity was the way so many of the leaves lay with their leaf points sticking upwards. It reminded me of the effect you get with magnets and iron filings.