A Bright October Ride

Sunday was a day left over from summer, kept in hiding by Autumn and brought out to surprise us when we least expected it.

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It's tantalisingly warm (hot, actually), with a strong South wind. Scarlet banners of sumac flutter and dance in the bright sunshine:

Most of the flowers are gone, but here and there a few still bloom. Queen Anne's Lace glows against a background of Virginia creeper, like a marriage of summer and fall:

I pass a flourishing patch of Butter-and-Eggs (yellow toadflax) looking strangely springlike:

Behind the flowers are a field of dry corn and some picturesque barns and silos:

I'm hoping for some autumn colour today, and here's my first glimpse of it - on the left, a maple just bursting into flame; on the right, an oak tree sparkling with colour as the first tints of fall mingle with the green:

My destination today is a favourite wood, a magical place where the trees are deep and the silence deeper, punctuated only by the occasional calls of birds I don't hear anywhere else.

The road curves around a stand of pines sending out waves of spice-scented breath; beyond the curve is a place of wonder and beauty. In summer it's a cool green tunnel, roofed and shadowed by overarching trees, but today it's dappled with rainbow light dancing through the changing maple leaves.

After a mile's gentle climb, the trees open up to show a sky glowing blue above golden birch and bronze oak:

This is my turnaround point; now I get to enjoy the astonishing beauty again, from the other direction.

October in Wisconsin is a good place to be. :)

A few miles on, I pass a field of cattle, black and white. Some graze with concentration, keeping their heads in the grass, but others stare as I take their photo:

(In fact I think the one on the right is saying "hello".)

My road winds through field and wood, with here and there a torch of maple burning above the still-green undergrowth:

The sun is dropping quickly in the west as my shadow races me home.

When did the days become so short? Not long ago we had nine o'clock sunsets, and now it's dark by seven. In a few weeks more, the clocks will change, and Central Daylight Time will become Crochet in the Evening Time. (There are compensations to cold weather, after all.)

How's your weather? Are you enjoying the changing season?

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