Extension cord at sunset

I was raking, shredding, and bagging leaves today. More than a few of my Oak leaves had blown across the street and onto the tree lawn in front of my neighbor's shrubs. (These are the same shrubs seen in this photo from 30-some years ago...just a few feet taller.) I decided to rake, shred, and bag those leaves too - not just because I'm a nice guy and these are nice, elderly neighbors, but also because these are Oak leaves, some of the most valuable carbon sources for my compost pile, and I don't want to see them get scoffed up by some landscaping service.

So there I was with my electric lawnmower powered by an extension cord stretching across the street to my garage. I had my camera with me (of course) and I realized that the setting sun meant I had better hurry if I didn't want to be working in the dark. I tried to get a few pictures of leaves casting shadows on other leaves, but wasn't too happy with the results. Then I turned around and looked at the street.

My extension cord is heavy-gauge but a few years old, and has been coiled and uncoiled many times until now it is full of permanent bends. The pattern the shadow of the cord cast on the road was beautiful.

And fleeting. Shadows at sunset quickly lengthen until the whole world is in shadow. I took this picture, put the camera away, and returned to my leaf gathering.