Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Changing Colours

What's been happening at Micawber Towers the last week or two? Nothing exciting.

The lurgy has been, and is now gone, much to our relief.

I've been plunged in a vortex of crochet dissipation, with not much to show for it but several pattern ideas sent off to various editors. Whether any will be accepted, who can say? But I've enjoyed the intensive swatching. I wish someone would pay me to swatch....

We enjoyed a week of sunshine and summer-like temperatures, made surreal by the steady falling of leaves from the trees. Bees, urgent with the knowledge that such dreamlike weather was too good to last, were locked in last-minute embraces with my cosmos blossoms:


But yesterday September woke up, and realised it had been slacking off on the business of fall. The mercury dropped about 25 degrees; grey clouds rushed in, complete with dampness and drizzle, and our dreams of a long warm autumn were quenched. Ah well.

Here are some photos from those halcyon days of heat and sun. First off, an afternoon walk from last week. Blue skies and power lines:


Hawkweed, its hair already in curlers for the night:


A fallen maple leaf - the first of many to come:


Sun shining through Virginia creeper in the wood:



The pond at the prairie restoration project was well-populated with honking geese...


...most of whom panicked when I walked by...


...leaving only a few brave birds behind to guard the peaceful waters:


A squirrel at the very top of a tree sat frozen while I snapped several photos:


At the other side of the pond, more Virginia creeper - a shock of scarlet amidst the green:


At this point I had to turn back. Though barely a mile from home, my legs were giving out due to lingering effects of the lurgy. But I got a lovely shot of smartweed (also known as knotweed or water pepper) on the way home:


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Now we fast forward to the end of the week, for a short Saturday bike ride in which I encounter three horses running down the road towards me:


I only have time for one quick photo before I see an entire family of Amish coming after the horses. (The Amish prefer not to be photographed, so at this point I put the camera away.) I slow the bike down, and stop about 10 feet away from the horses, who then decide to turn and thunder back towards their stable, just beyond the barn to the right. The nearest Amish family member grins at me and says, "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

It's a very beautiful day, blue-skied and hot. Cornfields and soybean fields are bleaching to yellow and gold behind a red barn, while a white cow grazes in the pumpkinless pumpkin field in front:


(It's been a bad year for pumpkins in our area. Some attribute this to weather, and others to a lack of bees.)

On a road that stretches through extensive marshlands, I see a turtle, its shell covered with moss and (I am sorry to say) leeches:


The road climbs out of the marsh, past fields edged with bright sumac hanging out its autumn bunting...


...then up to a wooded hill, where a tiny glade just off the road is transitioning beautifully from summer to fall in a flurry of green, red, and gold:


And that's the last photo from Saturday's ride.

~ ~ ~

Sunday is another hot, beautiful day, perfect for a walk. The oak tree in the front yard has been busy dropping leaves:


All the neigbourhood walnut trees are turning gold:


The leaves of this tiny tree (which I can't identify) are a deep, saturated yellow:



Combed grasses are adorned with scattered leaves:


Though there's still plenty of green to be seen, autumn definitely has a foothold.


Now we just need the maples to get going....

~ ~ ~

What colour are the trees where you live?

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25 comments:

  1. Lovely signs of autumn. Around here things are still pretty green - as you will see from my latest photos around the pond. However the temperatures have cooled a little and I expect the leaves will soon start to change colour. I love autumn.

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  2. There has not been much change yet. I tiny bit of yellow (wallnut trees, ashes) and dark red (pear trees). It's stll very green in all shades here. Have a nice fall!

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  3. We're in the early Autumn stage.. probably similar to yours. We're in NW Oregon, right on the Columbia River Gorge. Oddly, last year was bad for fall color.. and this was the hottest and longest summer on record, so I can't expect we'll get pretty fall color, more crispy brown. Dang.
    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  4. You've really loaded this post with spectacular photos! Your autumn leaves are so captivating. I'm sorry you had the temperature drop... and the lurgy. Good that you had a chance to get out while the weather is still good!

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  5. Wow such pretty colours! I live in southern BC and you are ahead of us. Some sunburst locusts are the first to turn and now are a beautiful yellow. We have a Crimson King Maple in our front yard and it is still green but turns a beautiful mix of orange and golds and Reds. Most of our trees hang on to their leaves till late October and lately into November. Hope you are feeling well soon!

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  6. Fantastic photo's Sue, I enjoyed accompanying you on your walks and ride, sorry you have had the dreaded lurgy but glad it's moved on. We have been having an unseasonable September too unbelievably warm it's been great but apparently it's all going to change on Friday so am making the most of it while it lasts. Lots of fallen leaves here but not that much change in the colours yet. :) xx

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  7. Thankyou for the beautiful photos, we are just starting Autumn here but the temperatures are still high although humid, it seems like we are in for a lot of rain next week so flooding can be expected.
    Felt for the poor little turtle, do the leeched do any harm to him?
    Briony
    x

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  8. Beautiful autumn photos, I especially like the turtle and the sun shining through the trees. I do hope you're feeling completely better soon. Good luck with those crochet patterns. CJ xx

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  9. Beautiful photos! Thank You! :)

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  10. You've squeezed a lot into this post. I love the wildlife encounters especially the horses and turtles - don't generally meet them over here! Juliex

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  11. Such lovely sights....colors and all. You live in such a gorgeous area. Not much color here as yet and I am not very positive this fall will be very flamboyant, but I keep hope alive.
    I am glad that you are feeling much better. Nasty bugs!
    Good luck on your latest crochet endeavors.

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  12. They're still green, we're stubbornly hanging on to summer, it will be 86º here today. But the nights are getting cooler and that's a blessing.

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  13. Beautiful fall pics! Around here the higher elevation leaves have changed, even dropped in places. The lower elevations are beginning to change. Glad you ousted the lurgy.

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  14. Your photos are so beautiful. I love coming along on bike rides with you. There is always something interesting to see and you notice the kinds of things I like to look at too.

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  15. Your pictures are really beautiful. Autumn is such a colourful season. The leaves here in the northern part of Germany start to turn yellow, brown or red. It is a fantastic sight, I love it very much. But we do not have summer temperatures anymore, jackets are already needed. Enjoy the last days of late summer weather, Viola

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  16. some golds are now striking..mostly the locust trees. Such a lovely post

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  17. We had the dramatic temp change this week. The leaves are just starting to change here now, we are still mostly green.

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  18. The leaves are green. ALWAYS green. TOO MUCH green! LOL

    Your first picture, of the bee is amazing. I love his itty-bitty tiny toes!!!!!

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  19. Wonderful pictures! Autuum arrived here too (we are lucky to have a golden one so far) and the leaves are turning red and yellow! I wish I had taken my camera with me today because the colours in the park next to my work are glowing! Plus there are some red apples in the tree! I adore this time of the year!

    Take care
    Anne
    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

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  20. Dear Sue,

    This is such a wonderful post. The picture you took of the bee on your cosmos blooms? Exquisite! I recognise quite a lot of the changing foliage which is pretty much akin to ours here in the Loire Valley. The Amish however marks a big difference!

    We returned from our long weekend in Marrakech (sigh) to a very misty autumnal day but, I am delighted to write, Indian summer weather has resumed service for the time being. It's gonna be a shock when the mellow sunshine abates for good.

    I'm glad to read that you are feelling better. I thought about you a few weeks back after a rather nasty but not serious fall off my bike. It's the shock that got to me and for one reason and another I keep meaning to get back on that saddle but I haven't done so yet.... I'll let you know how that eventually goes.

    Stephanie x

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  21. Fantastic pictures! What is it about flowers that they remind me of dresses? This post was good to me after a long, exhausting day. Relaxing and beautiful--like an aromatherapy for the eyes and soul.

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  22. First thing that comes to mind Sue is a line from the poem 'To Autumn' by Keats.

    '....later flowers for the bees,
    Until they think warm days will never cease,
    For Summer has o'er brimm'd their clammy cells'

    One of my favourite poems....

    Beautiful photos, particularly the bee on the Cosmos.......♥
    I love the colour Autumn/Fall brings in your part of the world.

    Wishing you success with getting your crochet patterns published. I have enjoyed reading this post while having a cuppa....Back to packing boxes now....:(
    Enjoy your weekend,

    Claire x

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  23. Lovely pictures Sue, I love the colors, the reds and oranges. The virginia creeper is so pretty, there is a cottage I walk past that has it all over the front just gorgeous. :)

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  24. So sorry to hear you have been ill Sue but glad you are feeling better. There is no lace more beautiful than Wisconsin in the Autumn. Gorgeous colors, skies and even turtle. I wish I could be there soaking it all in. Everything is green here, green, green and more green.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  25. Such beautiful pictures! I can never get enough of the fall colours. I especially love the Virginia Creeper. That's funny that the horses were running down the road towards you. Not quite what you would expect to see coming at you on the highway! :-)

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