Tuesday, October 23, 2012

BEGINNING THE END

This is a portion of the downstream view from my deskside window. The photo was taken only a few minutes ago, just as a brisk drizzle began. 

As you can see, the sky is gray and the leaves are wet; many are already on the ground—especially those from the five-strong clump of large sycamores in the upper left corner. A lot more are in the air, being blown about amid their descent, loosened by gusts which arrived along with the rain. 

Two minutes before I made this shot, those sycamores still held maybe fifty percent of their oversized brownish-tan leaves. Now I'd guess no more that five percent remain attached to the lattice of branchlets. 

The wooded streambanks are suddenly looking decidedly skeletal as the view opens. Even with the wooly gray overcast, there's a noticeable increase in illumination, as if nature had cranked the lighting rheostat a few notches to the right. A brighter dimness, if you will. 

There are leaves out there yet to turn—though most of these never amount to much, colorwise…another week or so of yellowish-green and then various shades of brown—beige, sepia, umber, burnt sennia, caramel, chestnut—before they, too, give in to gravity and add their topping layer to the fresh carpeting. No, any bright color notes will be few and far between from here on out. Time flows on, just like the river. 

Autumn's dazzling leaf show is beginning its end.         

18 comments:

Jayne said...

Ours is just starting to peak here, though many smaller trees have already given up their leaves. :c)

Gail said...

HI GRIZZ - excellent picture - love the images of subtle color, bare branches holding on to a few leaves for protection and life, and the mist of drizzle and gray sky add to the matte finish of a peaceful day such as this. This past weekend was peek foliage here in Connecticut and the golds and oranges took our breath away with their brilliance. The day is similar here, gray quiet sky, leaves falling, some clinging and most on the ground. I am inspired by the simplicity of the approaching Winter landscape, with bare trees and barren dry lands all still as they prepare for the first blossoms of Spring. It is the security of the seasons glory and promises that give way to my reveling in the quiet of Winters stillness.
Love Gail
peace......

Grizz………… said...

Jayne…

You Georgia peaches are the first to get spring and the last to get fall…but autumn will catch, sure enough.

(Sorry to be slow in getting your comment up and replying—I've had router/connection problems.)

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

We actually got some sunshine this afternoon. And temps are in the upper 70s˚. The landscape is being stripped down, for sure, with lots of leaf clutter on the ground. All of which I actually like. In fact, we're coming to my favorite part of autumn, that tattered between season from now until December. Then the holidays come…and after that, the long wait until spring.

AfromTO said...

love the caught blowing leaves in mid air-now that's an action shot-now quick paint it.

Grizz………… said...

AfromTO…

Catching those mid-air leaves was my intention, but I mostly failed. A lot of those leaves you see are actually suspended, though you can't tell.

When the gusts hit, the air was immediately filled with blowing leaves coming off the sycamores. I gaped at them a moment, thought "Wow! What a neat shot!" grabbed my camera which was about ten inches from my keypad, and fired off three quick shots. Not only did that short delay in reacting cause me to miss the height of the action—i.e., the amount of leaves flying about—but I didn't have time to set the shutter speed to, say, 1/30th of a second (instead of 1/500th, sixteen times faster) which "stopped" the movement instead of allowing a slight blur…and bad photographic job on my part. And when I did make the quick adjustment, and the next gusts came a moment later—there were practically no more leaves to blow off these particular trees. The event was over.

So, I got A shot…but not THE shot.

AfromTO said...

you could have had Moon the dog off side digging/throwing leaves into the photo for better effect-we wouldn't have known.

Grizz………… said...

AfromTo…

I would have known…and besides, Moon isn't all that good at keeping a secret. One sausage-stuffed manicotti and she'd spill everything.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Grizz - every time you post photos of the views from your cottage I am so very envious.

Grizz………… said...

Weaver…

I have, on occasion, been envious of your farm, and particularly of all the neat historical sites—from old runis to tails—nearby. I do love my river and views, though. Always something to see.

AfromTO said...

A sausage-stuffed manicotti and you would get everyone of my secrets out too.

Grizz………… said...

AfromTO…

I'll keep that in mind.

I'd probably hold out for a nice homemade foie, sliced carefully and seared perhaps half a minute per side in my favorite cast iron pan—and once I'd plated the cooked slices, dressed with a simple sauce from the fats and leftover bits in the pan, a few tablespoons of good balsamic vinegar and about the same amount of honey. Throw in a nice pesant bread and a hunk of a rich cheese and I'd hand you passwords, pen numbers, and directions to my morel patch.

We all have our price.

AfromTO said...

BOO

Grizz………… said...

Afrom TO…

Oh, ho! A belated but sincere BOO! to you. (Been painting and plumbing; just logged on.)

AfromTO said...

get let's see your painting:)

Grizz………… said...

AfromTO…

I still have a coat of clear spar varnish to apply for lots of shine, plus a brass kickplate to install—or maybe not, because the one I purchased is too big to fit under the decorative panels without trimming an inch or so off and drilling new screw holes; I'm not sure I have the proper tools for making that long cut well. But, I plan on a photo when I'm done.

AfromTO said...

can I borrow this image to maybe use as a basis of a linocut?it's lovely and strong but atmospheric.

Grizz………… said...

AfromTO…

Sure. My pleasure. Would love to see whatever you come up with.