On another detail, I did choose to keep the maple leaf and am hoping it does not convey too much "Canada." It still seemed fitting in this context since that particular leaf would be most likely to be the one that would fall (& thusly referred to) in fall in a Manhattan park.
And finally, I got rid of all the blue! I decided to cut it down to just gold & white "engraving" on the pale forest "leather bound" back. That cut definitely helped with the conflict the blue and green was having.
On a completely separate note, I would like to acknowledge how much this project stretched me and really forced me to grow quickly in my knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, a program coming into this course I had no experience with. I really hope this project reflects how far I've progressed in my knowledge of designing on a digital format and that this project will serve as a key stepping stone for my future projects.
