Friday, October 11, 2013

An autumn walk in the park

Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The leaves are beginning to change at the local park. The trees are at that transitional stage where they are part green and part orange. It's a magical process. Also magical, are the woods that adjoin the park. On the day I was there, afternoon light was sprinkling through the leaves. The forest had an undiscovered feel since so many trees were down. It took a lot of leaping and climbing just to walk though!


There were quite a few mushrooms in the forest. This one was growing out of a fallen tree. It reminded me of a little chimney or a pipe.


There was a wide array of pine cones on and under the trees. They ranged from pretty large to tiny, like these. I don't think I'd ever seen a lime green pine cone before.


So many trees were showing their autumn pride with colorful cherry-like fruits. I'm not sure what these are called. Please tell me if you know. They ranged in color from a warm gold:


To a red/orange mix:


To this intense cherry red:


Aren't these sweet? They look like a perfect little cluster of cherries in a painting. From what I can tell online, they're called pin cherries.


There were loads of wild grapes growing. I sampled one and it was so incredibly red inside. That stuff would make an intense dye.


After some googling, I learned these are chokecherries. If they aren't, they look incredibly close to chokecherries!


The apple trees had done some dropping and the ground was blanketed in apples. It was hard not to step on some while taking this photo.



All around the fallen apples were geese who were getting their fill. You can see their apple hunting stance here.


There was also a relaxing waterfall surrounded by autumn grasses.


I hope you enjoyed this virtual walk through our local park! I think this is the most beautiful time of year to enjoy nature. The trees look fantastic of course, but there's just something different about the light. Everything seemed covered in gold.


I hope I'll see you all at my Halloween blog party this year! I'm planning it for Friday, October 25. If you send me a photo of yourself in costume from any point in your life, I'll include you in the party post! You can email photos here: contactartgirl@gmail.com

For those who are new to my blog, you can see how this worked last year:

Justine's Halloween Blog Party 2012


11 comments:

  1. I love walking around in the woods in Autumn! You have inspired me :)

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    1. wicKED ~ I've seen some beautiful nature photos from your state! So I know there are some good looking woods for you to walk in during autumn. I'd love to see some pictures from your next forest walk!

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  2. I love this time of year! Beautiful photos!

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    1. Thanks! I read somewhere that autumn is the favorite season for most people. It makes sense, because for those of us who live places with big seasonal changes, autumn is the most colorful. The temperature is my idea of perfect now too.

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  3. I'm not positive, but I think those are rowan berries. You see loads of them here in England too. Autumn is in full swing over here now. I'll be sorry to see the end of October.

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    1. Alison ~ Wow! Yet another berry to consider! There are so many varieties out there. I guess it makes you think twice about what to eat from nature. Sometimes I want to try different berries or mushrooms, but I'm not even sure what I'm looking at. How great would it be to have all that old nature knowledge? I've learned about identifying quite a few things through this blog.

      I don't want to think about the end of October right now. I'm trying to just live in the moment, because winter can be pretty harsh where I am. I'd like to see some of your colorful autumn photos too!

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  4. Great post! I love your pictures. It's been a little too warm for me here in NY this October, but nothing to complain too much about, lol. The leaves are lovely and it's my favorite time of the year.

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    1. Midnyte Reader ~ Thank you! It's been almost like summer through most of this month, but I can feel the cold air coming in a little. I just hope it's not too cold for our party next weekend! I'd love for you to be a part of my Halloween blog party. I can't wait to see your costume!

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  5. Just read your Halloween Party post from last year. Love that idea! Now I just have to decide what picture to send you.

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  6. What a beautiful park! Such an abundance of fruit for the wildlife. WoW! And the tree at the end is gorgeous in its Autumn colors. :0)
    I think the red "berries" you saw are ornamental crabapples. The leaves look very similar to the leaves on a full size apple tree. I bet if you go back in the Spring those same trees will be covered in pink or white blossoms.
    Thank you for sharing your walk. :0)

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    1. Jeanne ~ It is definitely beautiful. The park looks great through all the seasons. In winter all those trees look magical covered in snow, especially the many pines. There is a rose garden with fountains and sculptures attached to those grounds. That's really something in the summer. I like to go there and walk around the flowers while there are free concerts playing.

      Yes, the animals have a whole nature buffet. :) I will go back in the spring and check out those same trees. I'm sure that would give a lot more of a clue as to what they are. There are so many fruits and berries in the park and a lot of them look similar. I like knowing what's what!

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