November is ending

 I didn't take many photos in November. 

Well, not many Landscape - Forest scenery. 

I think it is because this is my adjustment period from fall to winter. 

I enjoyed  watching the barberry plants in the woods change. These plants make great plantings in a suburban area but when they invade the woods, they make for prickly walking.

They are fun to photograph in the fall and winter. But I they don't provide wildlife with a meal. Well, I take that back. The birds eat these and spread it in their poo creating a thick undergrowth of plants that change the pH in the soil. These thickets are a wonderful Wood Tick Habitat. 

So, I have a love/hate relationship with them. I fight them on my land but it feels like a losing battle as my neighbor's 500+ acres of forest is infested with them.

Never the less. They are beauties to photograph.

There are morning frosts that are sometimes just so stunning and other times you just have to find the small things close to the ground to look at.

Some days a person get brilliant fleeting moments of color in a sunrise or sunset.  Sometimes those times are so incredibly beautiful in a very pastel way.

Yesterday we had dense fog and poor visibility. I still had to get to town but I took the scenic route and stopped at my favorite bridge on a back road.

By the time I was done in town, the fog was so dense it was hard to see. This is another reason I am grateful I am not doing the 60 mile round trip to work at odd hours anymore.

However, in a way, I thought the fog was beautiful. 

Today, I hope to get out and explore what froze in the creek last night as the temperatures went from 40 degrees to 21. And IT is snowing! :)

Time to think about some fun things. Like. ...

Experimenting with the Christmas Chair. The Jury is still out on this as I am going for less 'stuff' this year. But I did bring it out and set the jointed bear I made sooooo many years ago on it. As with most of my Christmas Stuff, it will constantly change.

Get Lost

 

Get lost

in the world of tiny things...in the rain....

I mean look at this beautiful scenery!
See? Brown Season!

Hubby thought I was nuts.

I decided to do a bit of wandering under the oaks and maples in the meadow before heading down to explore.

Who am I kidding? I was randomly following the dog who was randomly following his nose.

I should say that I was practicing DayDream Walking. You know, a way to get into that Zen World of Photography. Be aware of things but be nowhere in your head unless a pattern catches your eye.

I guess I was doing that in a way. Just slowly walking between multiflora rose thorns, blackberry thorns, and small trees mixed in with the detritus of the forest floor.

I stopped and watched the woods for a while. I saw a doe far off leap up the opposite bank of the creek and head into the prickly ash area. I thought she picked a good place to disappear.

We stopped at a favorite log of mine on the forest floor. It has three different mosses on it and some Common Powderhorn Lichen. 

All summer I worried as the moss and Lichen dried out and looked as if it was dying. However with the fall moisture from drastic day/night temperature changes, and the rains, it has come back strong and beautiful.

I am in love with the bright cheery colors, it looks as though the mosses are decorating with Christmas colors of red and green.

Here is a close up of the Lichen with raindrops balanced on the edges. The second is a crop so you can see the forest above reflected in the drop.

30mm macro lens
f 3.5
800 ISO

The macro world is so full of surprises. I sat on the log as Charlie sniffed around near me. That is, until the dampness seeped through my coveralls. 

I couldn't believe my luck when I got to the creek.

Droplets of water were everywhere. The log below ....

gave me this!

I walked down the creek a bit further looking for some more Lichen.

I got lost in a maze of logs with amazing droplets perching on the capsules. Well, I used to call them Moss Flowers but that isn't technically correct.

It wasn't until the rain started up again that I seemed to come out the spell of Enchantment the moss had on me.

So much to see! I was enthralled by the way the droplets hung on the moss capsules. I didn't want to leave at all. 

I wanted to stay lost in logs and mosses and see if the Forest Fairy I'd disturbed would come back and eat his/her fungi!