autumn

The yin and yang of autumn

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I spent today outside raking leaves and thinking about the season of autumn.  With a sunny and unseasonably warm day it was delightful to be outside.  And yet I was raking up a yard-full of dry and brittle leaves which have left our trees as skeletons in the landscape.  I was sad that the brilliant colors of fall were now behind us, and I was missing the constant chatter of the geese as they would fly over our house throughout the summer.  And yet I was appreciative of this warm and sunny day, and of the smell of fall that was evident in the air. 

We were in western Minnesota yesterday when this image was taken.  The high clouds created their own patterns in the sky, allowing the sun to filter through at certain angles.  As we drove through this prairie landscape, I was amazed at the fall beauty.  Here in the small town of Cyrus was a small slough with cattails and some trees — a very common sight.  And yet when the sun cut through some of the clouds it brought a most brilliant shimmer and light to the surface of the water.  It’s a common sight in Minnesota, and yet one that I will never grow tired of seeing.

Late fall colors

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We’ve been enjoying one of the longest fall seasons and one of the warmest, resulting in some of the most beautiful fall colors I’ve seen since moving to Minnesota.  The bright colors that are characteristic of the beginning of fall are now gone and we’re enjoying the more subtle shades of gold and rust.  Perhaps it’s all part of Mother Nature’s plan to nudge us more gently into winter.  But with colors like these leaves that I found earlier in the week, I’ll gladly relish in the beauty of this fall.

Fall daybreak over the Mississippi River

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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.

Sometimes the best is in your backyard

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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

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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!).