Maples are suddenly blazing away!
Finally…FINALLY!…fall is starting to look like fall hereabouts. Although, as I glance through my workroom window, the view downstream is still mostly green vegetation along both banks. There's not a hint of red to be seen; even the Virginia creeper twining up the sycamores at the lower corner of the yard remains an anemic pinkish-orange.
About half this tree's leaves came down before turning yellow.
Yet while we may not have any reds here along the river, it's a different story a couple hundred yards up the road, where a wealth of maples have decided to turn on their flames. All I can say is: Hey…it's about time!
Virginia creeper up the road.
This color arrived suddenly—in fact, over the last 24-36 hours. I drove by the same trees Saturday morning and only a few leaves were starting to show hints of red and gold, orange and yellow. This morning, almost all their leaves had changed into full-autumn dress. The transformation was glorious!
Mixed colors, including asters and waterwillow.
Still, such patches of bright color are the exception rather than the rule. Most of the landscape looks pre-fall instead of mid-fall, greenish-yellow, with the overall emphasis have just barely shifted onto the yellow side of things.
A little maple brightens up a corner.
Our summer-long drought is likely to blame. And it's doubtless the cause of so many trees already having dropped their leaves. A great many trees hereabout, covering a wide variety of species, have, over the past week, have simply lost the majority of their leaves without showing any color other than a listless tan.
As you can see—it's mostly yellow hereabouts.
But I'm not complaining. A little bit is better than none. Not all years are show-stoppers when it comes to fall color. Or you can have a great color display, and the weather suddenly cold and stormy, and every pretty leaf on the trees disappears overnight.
There are still a number of aster species in bloom.
Nope, I'm good with what we've got…and who knows, this one isn't over yet.
What I think is nannyberry.
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16 comments:
Very encouraging, Grizz. These wonderful photos persuade me that I have been premature in my suggestion that the fall plumage will be rather unspectacular this year. If I see as much as you have seen on this one day, my appetite will be satisfied — and I suspect that the best is yet to come. Great shots!
I love these beautiful pictures, especially the red maple leafs. They have always been my favorite. This is one of the reasons Fall is my favorite season though I do love them all........:-) Hugs
George…
Well, as you can see from the trail shot, what I have here is mostly yellow—so don't be misled by a few red and orange leaves. But there is some color suddenly out there…and maybe it will keep getting better for a few more days. But a lot of the trees here are dropping leaves like crazy.
Of course it was 83 degrees here today, so didn't feel much like autumn, either.
Bernie…
I'm glad to have even a few bright red leaves this time around. And I love em all, too—red, orange, yellow, gold, bronze, etc. And that old royal purple aster looks good in the mix, I think.
Looks gorgeous, we are having the best spring here in South Australia for years after so many years of drought, although we still would like to be greedy and have more rain for a bit longer.
...your first photo is stellar! I love that shade of red-orange. It's pure autumn. Matty and I noticed the same thing. Overnight the reds appeared (on what little leaves remain on the trees). I love them all too.
Penny…
Too much rain, not enough…you soon come to realize how finely balanced everything is, and how even a small variance one way or the other can make a big difference.
Seems strange to say, but enjoy your spring.
Kelly…
What really surprised me yesterday—aside from the sudden appearance of red and orange leaves—is how many leaves are already down. Some trees which are just now coloring up a bit, have no more than half their leaves remaining. Strange.
OK, so I'm officially jealous and coveting your beautiful fall colors there. ;c)
Jayne…
Thou shalt not covet thy fellow blogger's orangy-red maple leaves.
A little jealousy is okay, though. ;-)
Do you live in the most beautiful part of the world or something? Because every time I visit your blog I see such story-book perfect pictures of nature. Either that or you're just really good with a camera:)
Grace…
Much of Ohio is either heavily industrialized or given to giant agri-business operations of corn and soybeans. A lot of the land is flat. But…there are some surprising hills in the southeastern corner of the state, a nice roll to the land hereabouts, and lots of neat rural areas, plus woods, prairies, meadows and fallow fields, bogs, fens, marshes, swamps, rivers big and small, creeks, brooks, rills, lakes and ponds all over. So while Ohio would never make anyone's "most scenic" list, there are natural places and views that will astonish you. And you usually don't have to drive far.
Yes, I do pick and choose angles and subjects when photographing—but the shots I make depend less on photographic talent than willingness; if the raw material wasn't there, I couldn't get lucky and make a good photo nearly as often. It's usually not the place that's the problem and prevents us from recognizing and recording an abundance of beauty—it's our closed minds and unwillingness to see.
HI Grizz-
DId you take those picture in my yard and woods around the house and surrounding my brook? I am pretty sure you did. :-) Next time, stop in for coffee being so close and all. :-)
Love you
Gail
peace.....
Gail…
Actually, I took most of them a quarter mile up the road from the cottage, where a few maples apparently decided to get with the season and show their colors.
But if I'd known you have colored leaves AND coffee, I might have come knocking for sure. That and the good company would be an impossible-to-resist combination!
Exquisite - there is no other word for it Grizz. Today I drove past the tree on our green and it had dropped its golden leaves - they shone like pennies on the grass. Two hours later, when I returned, they had all turned brown and the colour had gone. We have to make the most of every minute this time of the year.
Weaver…
You are so right…beauty is fleeting and time moves steadily along. The chance to savor, to enjoy—sometimes to say what ought to be said—is not boundless. We must live in the moment…heeding the past, considering the future, but never forgetting that one is gone and the other yet to come, while this place we call life is right now.
Thank you, as always…
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