Fall Foliage

Over the weekend I knew it was time to photograph our surroundings because the fall foliage was just the right color and texture.  I try every single year to capture the landscape at the perfect moment.  If I wait too long or if the weather is off, everything can change overnight and I'm left with bare trees and a barren landscape.

Going up our driveway in the mornings during the month of October, I'm always observing at what's happening around us; the flora & fauna don't need a calendar or a clock to work their magic.  I can always tell on these morning drives up the driveway when I need to photograph.  Luckily, there  haven't been any blustery rainstorms, official hurricanes or unusual icing conditions which have prevented me from taking advantage of the beautiful fall foliage here at home.

The weekend was such a marvelous two days for me and my family.  Not only did I have the good news regarding my niece's health, I also had the chance to catch my breath and bake several batches of cookies and granola to share with a few people.  In between all of this I decided to grab my camera and take a walk around the grounds since I did promise you a few weeks back that I would.  Keep in mind that the temperatures haven not risen above 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, but with a sweater and some light gloves it hasn't been uncomfortable.

Unless I'm out for some exercise with no intention of photographing in the afternoon, I almost always head up our driveway towards the barn to see what's happening.  It is here where I have surprises from nature waiting for me, whether it's the trees, shrubs or the many wildlife that surround us.  The bend along our driveway always reveals such stunning colors at this time of year, so when I get to a certain spot as I make my way up the hill, I stop to photograph and see what's happening.

Take a small walk around our home with me and see the landscape through the photographs I took just a few days ago.

Enjoy!

This is the end of our driveway as it leads onto the road.  Believe it or not, it takes me a full 2-3 minutes of walking to reach this point.  I find it to be such good exercise heading up the hill.

It's right about now that we get a plethora of 'woolly bear caterpillars' throughout the lawns & meadow.  The tiny little creates are purported to predict the winter weather based on the amount of dark brown rows, but from what I've gathered, it seems to be one of those 'wives' tales'.  Even so, these little individuals are very adorable.  The one above was crawling along a set of slate steps in front of our house and decided to take a rest on this brown leaf.

Along the western edge of the driveway near our house is a set of maples and beeches.  The one in the foreground is a majestic beech tree that always shows such splendor during the Fall.  Over the summer I had a visitor from New Hampshire who stopped by, because he just had to return to the property after so many decades.  

This gentleman, apparently, used to play here on the grounds as a child during the Depression in the 1930s and he told me that in those days, there weren't any trees between the house & the old barn.  He remembers an 'outhouse' being located in that spot! Imagine that.  He also tells me that the family who lived here used to keep horses up at the barn.  It seems that he used to take out one of the horses to ride it around the meadow when no one was watching!

I took a moment ask him lots of questions while he was here, because I knew he felt like doing a little storytelling.  For a short while I thought to myself: this could be you in 50 years telling stories about this place to some other individual.  

The beech that's in the foreground in the other picture is such a spectacular specimen.  Look at the leaves.   Such beautiful browns and yellows.

A lot of leaves have fallen and, as you can tell, the driveway hasn't been swept yet.  We have a lot of black walnut casings and acorns that litter the driveway in October.  It's always a struggle to drive up here without crushing them.

Around the bend, looking up the driveway, you can see the beautiful colors.  This is where I have my "wow" moment in the Fall.

In a few months this will all be bare. 

Here is another beech tree that is quite old and beautiful.  It has such a nice and complex root system that grows above the ground.  For some reason we get a lot of stunning moss at the base of the tree which I leave alone.  Some walnuts and ash trees can also be found in this area, but what's spectacular about this spot is that acorns fall by the hundreds.

Here is another view as I look onto the meadow.  You can almost feel and sense the last vestiges of summer, but make no mistake.  Fall is here to stay.

Dark shadows that cover large patches of the field won't be here for long.  As soon as all of the leaves are gone (except for the evergreens, of course) sunlight will drench this entire area during the day.

The field won't be mowed again this season.  What remains here will just die down for the Fall and Winter months.  I told you before that it makes me sad to think of all that verdant growth going dormant, but it also makes me crave next year's seasons.  It's something to look forward to.

Here's a photograph looking back toward the barn.  The range of colors is simply breathtaking.  I can't imagine doing without the seasonal colors of Fall here on the east coast.

These wonderful trees line the edge of the driveway.  You can see that orange-hued beech I showed you earlier on the left-hand side.  That single evergreen next to the deciduous trees will be the only source of color here in a few weeks.

The beech.

At this point I was already beginning to feel a chill, so I had to make my way back home along this path.

❂

Let's hope that our Fall & Winter seasons are mild this year.  I'm already looking forward to Thanksgiving here at home, because I love cooking and baking up a feast.  The warm aroma of stuffing being made early in the morning, the glistening turkey getting carved and the endless heaps of mashed potatoes and gravy is what it's all about.  I'm thinking about my table setting and how I want to change it from last year's bright reds & oranges.  For that I'll have to go through the linen closet, china cabinet and silverware drawers.  I may even craft something to liven up the house.  I owe you some crafting, don't you think?

Happy Autumn!