Today dawned cloudy and chill yet has transformed into a gloriously sunny day.The day is cooler than yesterday, but still well above seasonal norms as have most days been this autumn. We did not turn on the heat until last week when we finally had a very chilly, damp spell..
Our fall has been long and sensuous, with deep leaf color unfurling over several weeks. It has also been stormy and we had a day without power when an early nor’easter took down many trees.The past two autumns were dry, with very little color, the leaves just turning brownish and falling from the trees.
Now the autumn breezes are stripping the leaves from the trees as I watch. A week ago we had someone clean our gutter as they were so leaf choked water was gushing over their edges. Now the gutters are filled again and the trees near the house are far from bare. Hopefully the leaves have dried enough so that our next rain will wash many from the gutters.
I’ve been out with a camera as often as possible. I like being out when the light is soft and vibrant (don’t most photographers?) which means early morning and late afternoon. The time change over last weekend means that instead of sundown at 5:30, it now comes at 4:30.
The sun is now low in the south all day, so the slant of light illumines foliage and throws long shadows, especially during the corners of the day. If I go out too late, I find myself chasing the light as it quickly transitions to a more harsh tone. Monday I discovered that after about 4:00 the quality and intensity of light falls very rapidly, much more quickly than I had anticipated.While I am not held to the traditional 15 minutes, time remains precious.
The other evening I went out late, the sun having largely set save for the last flares of color at the top of the trees. For whatever reason the soft, vibrant light held on, creating a sort of magic that so entranced me I missed an important meeting. I did manage to grab a surprising number of exceptional photos though.
I find photographing under the right conditions feels a lot like prayer and brings me closer to Nature. It is indeed a gift.
Well, the library just emailed to let me know that several books I had put on hold have arrived and await my picking them up. How is it, do you think, that books always arrive in clumps rather than being usefully spread out? The light is lovely so I’ll grab a camera and go.
Dreaming the World 
Good to hear from you, Michael. Hope you are doing well in your current transition.
Oh, Pat, the transition is very slow, which is fine. That said, I am also curious about what comes next.
Did the entire post show up for you or did you only see the first paragraph? WordPress was very odd yesterday, after I put in the usual page break.
I only saw the first paragraph. Not your usual style of posting.
There is a lot more. I took out the page break and the post seems to be loading correctly now.
Thanks, I’ll go back.
Wonderful as autumn can be it’s the changes around us that disturb me but the light is still here and illuminating. All we can do is watch.
Lara, this autumn has been both lovely and profoundly disturbing. The lobster in the pot metaphor become ever more applicable.
That is the perfect metaphor, my friend.
Beautiful observations about fall. So true about how library books arrive in clumps.
Yesterday, Laurie, five came at once…..
Just like Christmas! Greedy thing that I am, I love getting five books at once. 😉
Our library tends to lend only for two weeks…..
That is a short time to read five books. Most of my books come from interlibrary loan, and I have three weeks plus usually the option of renewal. It all helps.
If there is not a lengthy waiting list I can often renew. We have a consortium of connected libraries so everything is also influence by the lender’s rules.
We don’t have autumn and winter season, I love to see the colours of autumn posted by bloggers. My daughter and family live in Germany, she sends photos of the trees . They look beautiful. I enjoy clicking photos 😊
Yes, autumn here in the higher latitudes is often stunningly beautiful That said, there is also much beauty in the tropics and no winter.
Yes, we have different shades of green and they are all beautiful.
And all of the flowering plants!
What lovely writing. I enjoyed every word. Like you I find photography brings me closer to nature. It slows me down so that I see and hear more.
Thank you, Suzanne. I hope you are getting out to snap those passing moments of nature.
In between rain showers 🙂 – we are having a very wet spring over here in south east Australia.
Wet here as well. Three very intense storms in the past 10 days. As a local meteorologist said, “This should not be happening.”
Yes, its very strange weather. Floods across the State of Victoria, Australia and even snow on the mountains. Here on the coast it’s wild winds and rain.
I saw video of the snow in the south. So much changing quickly.
yes!
What a wonderful post – that I missed on my first go-around. I look forward to seeing some of your photos as I missed peak fall color this year. Post them soon, please. 🙂
I will post more pics soon.
We too have put the clocks back an hour, which means I see that lovely golden morning light on the way to work. The evenings are dark by about 4.30 but the sunsets are beautiful too.
Andrea, We are often up by 6 so get to enjoy the sunrise. Sunset is around 4:30 and it is dark by five. We are fighting to stay awake by 8…..