Autumn's Last Breath

The last of the autumn color is typically the leather-reds of the oaks. I cherish them with mixed emotions. Days of rain & wind has now sent them cascading to the forest floor. Random patches of color can still be found, but for the most part, autumn's glory has waned to completion. Here in our forest retreat, the lake's surface can now be seen clearly across both the point & peninsula.


Tom & I spent the other night on our deck, watching as a cloud front moved in. We gazed at the moon through the silhouette of a now bare, eye-level oak. Moonlight has an amazing quality in gently overcast skies & we lost ourselves in the mood. It's all good.

Autumn Mist

Leaving for home on Friday, I started my van, then paused...the sky was overcast and the evening light was a great setting for the near-fluorescent maples that were bursting with joyful praise. One of my favorite songs, "Drowned" by Chasen, was playing on the radio. I cranked it up, grabbed my camera & headed across the parking lot on foot. I shot a hundred or so images in the fading light, before heading home. It was awesome !
The autumn color is just truly, coming in & I stopped 2 more times on the 3 1/2 mile ride home. As I approached my turn into the neighborhood, the lake view stopped me. I pulled onto the side of the bridge. Keeping an eye in the rear-view mirror, I slowly coasted back towards the middle of the span. Heels or not, I waited for a break in traffic, grabbed the Olympus & ran across towards the dam. As I shot, cars & even trucks traveling over 50 m.p.h. rumbled & shook the pavement beneath me. It was absolutely exhilarating ! The middle school & maple shots took their toll. I captured very few images before my batteries gave out. For some reason, traffic was picking up & I felt a little too vulnerable to stay for replacement batteries in the rapidly fading light. The river view behind me also had a beautiful mist rising amongst yellow foliage. It was awesome, inspiring, scary-in-a-good-way & uplifting !!!! but, in all honesty...the real reason I stopped, was to share this with you.


[To get your bearings, my home is to the far right out of these shots. The landing & little cove where I typically "watch" are to the right as well. The second shot shows the far tip of Beaver Point & this is the view up river of the lake.]

Signs

The fields & forests are full of whites & golds. The trees are beginning to show God's autumnal painting hues & it's the season to pet bumblebees. I was so happy that my son remembered that.


I have written before of the "troop movements" of the blackbirds. I was able to share one such moment with my brother the other day. The image doesn't do any sort of justice. We stood on my deck & the trees were literally filled with them...constant motion...hundreds chittering & calling as they came in droves, from tree to tree. This one lasted 20 minutes & we stayed for the entire show.


The geese are beginning to travel in groups across the skies. I caught this one at a soccer game. For years a pair of Canadians have over-wintered at the pond around the corner. They make daily trips across the skies to a small lake next to our church. We know it is the same pair & I think that is awesome! Every year they show up & stay just a bit too long. There is always a time when I begin to wonder if they will stay on...and a shortly after, they take off. So many changes have occurred so quickly at the little pond, I wonder if they will return. This last year, they had offspring for the first time. Perhaps that has changed their habits. It occurs to me, that just as I always wonder if they will stay, I always wonder if they will return...so I will keep watching & listening for the " kids'" return...