Dried pinecone stem

The dried pinecone, a woody fossil of last season's abundance, clung to its stem with tenacious grace. The stem itself, a slender wand of brittle brown, bore the rough texture of bark long stripped of life. It arched like a miniature tree limb, its surface etched with fine, longitudinal cracks that spoke of slow surrender to the sun and wind. From its tip, the pinecone splayed its scales in a spiral, geometric perfection, each scale papery and stiff, tipped with a sharp, defensive point. The entire assembly—stem and cone—held a quiet, rustic beauty, a monochromatic sculpture in shades of burnt umber, ochre, and grey, smelling faintly of sun-warmed forests and crisp autumn air.