gold before they fall

I'm pretty sure there were only two yellow leaves on this silver birch yesterday. Then overnight,things have changed.

This is one of my favourite little passages from Tolkien:

As Frodo stood upon the threshold, Elrond wished him a fair journey, and blessed him, and he said:
'I think, Frodo, that maybe you will not need to come back, unless you come very soon.For about this time of year, when the leaves are gold before they fall, look for Bilbo in the woods of the Shire.I shall be with him.'
These words no one else heard, and Frodo kept them to himself.