Bright Leaves on a Dark Day

Last Sunday was a dark, rainy day. I took a walk around a lot of tree-lined streets and a few forest areas. It was a good time to be out photographing trees and leaves, because the autumn colors had started to appear. The leaves have changed only recently. I like going out to take pictures after it has rained, because I can capture the raindrops, like in this pic I took of a leaf-covered street.

Looking up from the ground, this is the entrance to one of the forest areas I like to walk.

How beautiful are these wet leaves? I was getting a nice contrast between the leaves and that dark, wet pavement. 

Right as I was entering the forest, I heard some geese. I looked up and just had time to take a photo of them. I like how the geese are soft as the camera focused more on the branches.

Once in the forest, I turned around to take a pic of the path I'd just taken. It seems a little unusual to see this many orange and red leaves on the ground with nothing but leafy green trees above them. I don't think I've taken any pictures like these before. Usually, the leaves that are still on the trees have turned when the ground looks like this. I really like the contrast, though. It's like someone put down a leaf carpet.

Once out of the woods, I was walking along the sidewalk and got more leaves. 

Now into a different forest, which may look similar to the last one. I know the difference from walking these paths so many times, though. I'm recognizing the trees.

It's like the tips of these leaves got cold. 

This forest is super hilly. I've read that kids used to sled down these hills in the woods back in the day. As in 80 or so years ago. Can you imagine? I've walked these paths in winter and it can be interesting when there's ice.

Have you guys ever seen a black Maple tree?

I like the red stems.

I like walking this street. There's something comforting and old-timey about it. This is also a great place to find acorns! 

I hope you enjoyed this little virtual walk! It couldn't feel any more like Autumn out there. 🍁

A November walk through the subtle and subdued

After the colors of October in the last blog post, we transition into the quieter tones of November. I took these photos a few days ago, on November 17. I walked around a small local park and through some tree-lined neighborhood streets looking for something beautiful in the fading November nature. 

I like the challenge of taking nature pictures at this time because what we mostly see is what I call "plant skeletons". There is beauty in just the shape or structure of a plant when it's missing its petals and all that is left is a seed pod. Without the distraction of color, you can really see the framework.

If any of you can help me identify some of these plants, that would be great! We can start with this one. I was tempted to say these were wild grapes, but they're not. They're not on a vine and the leaves aren't a fit. These were actually part of a massive shrub. 

The light was mellow that day, because I went out right after it had rained. Actually, I was being lightly rained on at the time. The sky is a milky white to gray in these, which I like for November photos. I can really see the outlines of the leaves. This is the top of a Ginkgo tree. 

This photo turned out spookier than expected. I think Tim Burton would dig this tree. It's a super massive Oak. 

Here is an up-close view of its bark. 

I rooted around under the tree, finding all different types of leaves. As much as I love the fresh and bright October leaves, I also find the thick and leathery November leaves pretty cool. These two leaves were so huge. I'd say they were slightly larger than my hand, outstretched. 

I think this is a nut after a squirrel got to it. The more I look at this, the more I notice.

These next few photos were taken in the "Children's Garden" that I've mentioned before. Any idea which plant these leaves belong to? They were part of a long vine.

The giant pumpkins they grew in the garden are still in great shape.

Any idea what this is the remnant of? I rubbed one of the leaves and it smelled nice and lemony. I know it isn't lemon balm. Maybe some form of lemon sage or mint? 

This looks like Red Yarrow to me. I know it looks too big for that here, but I closed in. I just looked up some images of Red Yarrow leaves, and they look like this. So that's what I'm sticking with. 

I may have shared this birdhouse creature before. Isn't it fun?

This is a close-up view of the top of a tree stump. I like photographing things that look plain at first, but then seem very detailed later. 

This one was taken off a bridge I have mentioned earlier. I love standing on this little bridge and looking down at the creek moving. This is very close to that tree-lined area behind the backyard with all the spooky scarecrows. 

How twisty and turny is this bark? I'm not sure what kind of tree this is.

Looking at this next pic tells me that the bark probably belonged to a maple. 

I don't recognize these next seeds, do you?

These bright seed pods belong to the European Spindle. Every year I want to say that this is Bittersweet and then need to google it. 

I know this one is Burdock, though! These may not look it, but they're soft to the touch. I was holding some of them still to take my photos. 

Pine:

Only a few weeks ago, these trees were full of yellow leaves.

It's hard to express how tall this tree is. You'd just have to see it. I can't imagine how old it is. The more I look at this tree, the more I wonder what type it is. It fans out in a way I don't think I've seen anywhere else. 

Well, there's some November nature for you! Beautiful in its own way and mysterious in the way where I'm not sure what I'm looking at. Maybe some of you will be able to help me with that. 🍂

A walk through the most vibrant of October colors

I have some very colorful fall photos to share from a local forest area. I just checked the date on when I took these and it was October 20. I wanted to check because the leaves have changed and fallen so fast! It didn't seem possible that I'd taken these so recently. I'm already nostalgic for this day. 

This first photo is one of my favorites. The light was perfectly shining through the leaves from every angle. It was like looking through stained glass on a sunny day. I'm also reminded of stained glass when I look at this because of the branches. They look like the dark lines between the pieces of glass. 

As you can see here, this forest is part of the Grootemaat Nature Preserve. The tops of that sign look like little bird houses, although I'm not sure how many birds would be small enough to fit in there! I'm curious about how long this area has been set aside as a nature preserve, but I can't seem to find much history on it.

Pretty much every autumn leaf color possible was represented that day. This is the place to go locally if you'd like to see the best leaf variety. 

You can step into the forest at pretty much any point, although there are some clear trails. It's interesting how this forest area is right next to a fairly busy road, but once you step inside it's like you're in a whole other world.

As you can see, someone marked a general path area with large tree branches. 

This picture was my computer wallpaper up until a few days ago. 

Look at all the little baby maples carpeting the ground!

I've said this in the past, and I'm about to say it again: Doesn't the up-close view of a leaf look like an aerial map? 

I find this photo calming. I'm trying to figure out the background, even though I took the picture! It doesn't look like a forest, but I did take it at the same time as the others. Hmm...

I'm already missing all this color! The next couple blog posts will be a series of photos I took a few days ago. You'll see that the trees look vastly different. The upcoming photos will be as much November as these are October!