Colorful

The past few days have given us some spectacular morning and evening colors. The ones above were from a morning walk. The magic all happened as I walked back towards home. I'd hiked out to an area where I could see across the top of the ridge but the view was rather...um. Bleh.

When I got to the mailbox the skies lit up with those great crepuscular rays of morning light over the cornfield.

Another stunning evening sky gave us some amazing colors. 
Home sweet home ... colors in the sky above us.

The trees are rapidly changing colors. Getting a scenic shot is really quite hard in these woods and hills without travelling to the river or a bluff.

Green and Gold Hickory leaves:

Maple leaves along the driveway:

I'm hoping to get out to one of the county parks this afternoon.

Below is a photo of Jersey Valley which had an earthen dam to provide flood control and a man made lake which provided us with hiking, fishing, and kayaking, picnics, and swimming. The dam was destroyed in 2018 and apparently they will not replace it once again as it is too costly.

The County is working on rebuilding the trails that were also destroyed.

I do recall in years past that this was my go to spot at sunrise or late in the day. This is a photo from 2014 when the lake still had water.

I'm aching to get out and enjoy some fall beauty if it comes around. However. I'm okay with what Mother Nature will provide for us.

Pretty and Fleeting ...

I thought we were not going to have much in the way of Fall Colors this year. In September the trees were turning and the undergrowth in the forest was dying off due to our drought. We've been getting rain since then and it seems the trees made a recovery and are now on schedule with bright and beautiful colors.

I think they are just showing off after such a tough year.

I like to take my photos of the leaves from under the trees in full sunlight. I use the sun to light up the leaves and make them glow with color. This past week I was limited in the morning by pet chores so I didn't get my usual morning shots. 

But this is what I did find and I am satisfied with it.

I like standing in the shadows of the trees and finding spots of light. I guess this has just how I liked to see things this year.

Apparently, according to the Leaf Color chart, our area is at 95%. I'd call it a full peak of color right now.

Of course I hope to get out this weekend and enjoy some of those colors in one of our county parks or perhaps a state park.

Falling

 

The leaves are falling everywhere!

Oh no! I feel like I am going to miss it. Wait miss what? I'm not exactly sure. But Fall makes me feel like I am missing out on something as the leaves drop and blow away leaving the trees stark...

...and
amazing in their winter garb.

But until then I will enjoy their colors and the leaves dropped onto the forest floor. With winds gusting up to [40 mph] according to the weather sites, leaves came down in a hurry around here. My gutters filled up with locust leaves and pine needles. 

I won't clean them until the rest of the leaves are down for the year. The yard is done. I mowed two weeks ago and it has frosted and been so dry that the yard won't grow much.

Below ~ Our first hard frost October 8th:

Since then the leaves went into hyper drive change mode. That is the one thing I wish they would not do.

Wouldn't it be nice to see the leaves change slowly and give us more time to enjoy them? 

So during Fall, I chase the leaves. Last year I chased the leaves at a few county parks, this year, most of my color/light chasing has been done right here around home.

I chase the leaves, I chase the light. I want to skip meals and just soak up the forest around me in these precious Fall days.

Charlie has no objections to it either. He likes wandering the forest and finding neat hidey holes for 'possum, raccoon, and other critters. 

Hubby knows this is my Fall routine and that I get on a roll and can't be stopped when Fall is here.

Maybe it is the shorter days that make me feel like I can't miss a thing. By midwinter I seem to adjust well. 

Even the leaves on the ground are amazing. Below are macros of Maple leaves.

Yesterday, we had rain. A long awaited rain. Just enough to settle the dust for a few minutes. 

Then a cold front swept through in the late afternoon and dropped temperatures drastically along with some 40 mile an hour gusts of wind.

Everyone got in on a bit of goofiness.