Our fall colors have been changing rapidly. Knowing that they won’t be lasting much longer, I took a day off work and left the house before 6:00am. I drove southeast in the darkness and caught up with the Mississippi River. On a bluff above the river in Frontenac State Park I enjoyed the quiet and beauty of daybreak over the Mississippi. The morning was cool and coated the grasses and fall flowers with a light dew. And yet as the sun rose there was the promise of a warm Indian summer day ahead. As I focused my camera down the river to Lake Pepin I heard a rustling in the grasses to my right. Just as I glanced in that direction, a large doe leapt through the little bluestem and bounded down the hill — the only sound breaking the quiet. I spent the remainder of this warm day wandering the hillsides and bluffs on either side of the Mississippi River, in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The following days were windy and blustery, and I’m certain many of the remaining leaves found their way down to the ground. In the short span of this past week, the landscape has changed dramatically, getting closer to the inevitable first hard frost and winter.
autumn
Sometimes the best is in your backyard
Now that fall is here in its most full splendor I’ve been on the roads looking for fall color. Last week we were in Wisconsin, and this past weekend we were in western and central Minnesota. This is a fabulous year for the colors. The temperatures and moisture have certainly been prime for producing a grand spectrum of rich shades of red, yellow, orange, and gold. And yet just this morning I made this image in our backyard. There is a lovely ivy that graces the fence and trellis in our side yard. I’ve been watching the colors progress this past week and a half. In some areas the color is all a rich rust or maroon, and in others it’s a yellow or gold. But as I walked along the fence this morning I spotted this area which had a delightful array of all the colors. And in the early morning light it was positively glowing! So I will continue to look for the colors of fall in the parks and roads of Minnesota and Wisconsin, but I will also make sure to stop and admire, appreciate, and photograph what is presented to me in my own backyard.
Chasing fall colors in Wisconsin
We’ve just returned from a delightful weekend of fall color in northern Wisconsin. After raining on Friday, the weather was cool and cloudy on Saturday morning and we ventured to Copper Falls State Park outside of Mellen, Wisconsin. The colors of gold, green, red, orange, and yellow were all visible throughout the woods. It was a treat to the eyes and to the senses, as there is most certainly a distinct smell of fall in the air also. Later in the day the sun burned through the clouds and these same vibrant shades of autumn were splashed against a bright and clear blue sky with warm sunshine. Although it’s hard to think of summer as being behind us now, the beauty and brightness of fall seems to be our reward before we delve into the white of winter.
There was a programming glitch with my blog entry from last week. Those of you who normally get an email when I’ve posted a new blog entry were left without notification. Sorry! You might want to go directly to my blog to read the entry from last Sunday — it was all about a very joyous wedding celebration in our family. Go to http://www.lindastaatsphoto.wordpress.com and scroll down to the entry dated September 26, 2010, “A wedding in the family.” (Sorry for the mixup!).
Grape harvest, part 2
Yesterday was part 2 of our 2010 grape harvest experience. For the past few years we’ve helped some friends who live on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River harvest their acre of grapes. This is certainly a much larger operation than our one concord grape-vine! Six of us worked most of the day, stopping only for lunch, and made good progress. It’s delightful to work amongst beautiful scenery, with good conversation and good laughter. Certainly makes the harvest much more enjoyable and fun. We spent the day harvesting frontenac gris, although we were treated to tastes of all the varieties of grapes our friends are growing. The alpenglow grapes that are pictured here are a beautiful shade of soft yellow/green, that develop a light blush as they ripen. I can attest to their most wonderfully sweet and juicy flavor. After the sun had set and we had been in the vineyard all day, we retreated inside to a delightful meal and were able to lift our glasses to toast this year’s harvest with a glass of wine from last year’s harvest.
Autumn carpet
This may have been our last weekend for fall color here in the Twin Cities. As the past week progressed we had cooler temps, rain, and more wind, culminating in yet another early snowfall on Friday. With all these conditions the leaves have been falling much more regularly, carpeting the lawns, sidewalks, and streets. I took a walk along the Mississippi River Road on the Saint Paul side of the River. The temps were mild and there were many people enjoying the sights and smells of autumn. Along the path I saw a small grouping of trees that had lost all their red leaves. At first I was disappointed that I hadn’t seen their vibrant display a few days earlier, and then I realized that the leaves were still just as stunning except that they were carpeting the ground. By lying down on this lush carpet (and confusing many of the passers-by), I was able to focus on the covering of red and gold and remind myself that sometimes the beauty of fall isn’t just at eye level and on the trees, but is often spread out before us at our feet.
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