The leaves, a few weeks ago so green and shiny and sparkling in the sunlight, have turned to yellow, gold, red and brown for the touch of autumn is a magic touch and autumn is in the air. ~Raymond Carlson, “Arizona Highways” magazine
Before Autumn can slip away entirely, I set out to capture some of its beauty. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed snapping them!
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet
Frost
Whitens
Fallen leaves.
Outlines their veins,
Bestows a beauty
Gone since they turned color
Earlier in the season.
Something sad about the Autumn
When trees become bare and look like sticks.
As they prepare to rest for several months.
Don’t cry because leaves are not here today.
They served a purpose and now they’re gone.
Nestled together on the ground,
Sheltering grass and insects,
Enhancing the landscape.
Perpetuating
And renewing
The cycle
Of life —
Mulch.
Note: This poetic form is a Double Etheree.
Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist
Buffeted by winds,
Rain, sleet, snow, and loneliness.
Tenacious last leaf.
Dallas here.
Guess what? It’s b-a-a-a-c-k!!
Snow fell overnight. . . .
We only got a dusting Tuesday morning, according to mama, who keeps up with that sort of thing.
But when she let me out and I saw it, I went crazy.
I love snow.
On my nose, on my furs, everywhere.
My favorite thing is to roll in it!
But mama says it’s early for snow. We’ve still got leaves on the trees.
And on the ground
How cool is that?!
The bottom is supposed to drop out, temperature-wise, this weekend, so I decided I’d get some late autumn photos before nothing is left but sticks!
This sugar maple is decked out in reds and yellows
What says “Autumn” more than a yellow Chrysanthemum?
This Dogwood has all sorts of pretty colors, from shades of gold to crimson and bronze
I don’t remember my Crepe Myrtle turning this pretty last year!
Ooh, looks like somebody’s going to have to do some raking!
This miniature Japanese Maple is a profusion of brilliant red leaves
Even sidewalks get into the act — some feature leaves so deep you can really swoosh through them!
Here’s another yard just begging for a rake
In a sea of reds and yellows, this purple mum truly stands out — I like to think it knows how special it is!
Has Autumn been spectacular in your neck of the woods, too?
Note: So far, nobody has correctly guessed my Darling Doggie’s name! But you still have until 6 p.m. CDT on Sunday the 28th to guess. If nobody comes up with a correct answer by then, we’ll just have to toss all the names into a hat and draw one out — I’ll announce the winner on Monday the 29th (and make arrangements for shipping the earrings to them). Thanks to everybody who played along!
My Favorite Domer tells me the trees all around campus have suddenly decided to drop their leaves, all at once!
Of course, this makes for lots of headaches for the maintenance crew, who probably find themselves in the position of salmon swimming upstream as they try to keep up with Mother Nature. At least they’re not having to rake.
When I was a child, I always used to think of Hell as one long life sentence of raking leaves. That was during a time when our fair community allowed residents to burn, and my mom certainly loved that! We’d rake leaves into huge piles or mountain ranges along the sidewalk, then mom would add a bit of lighter fluid from our summer charcoaling and strike a few matches. The flames and smoke would belch skyward, and we kids would race back to the front porch for safety!
Now we’re more enlightened, and our city fathers have banned leaf burning. Of course, that means some people refuse to do anything with their yards, and their leaves blow this way and that until they can find a fence-row to cling to. Other people have invested in mulching lawnmowers (like my dad did), and they’re the ones who can “kill two birds with one stone”! Frankly, I’m one of the people who can breathe better, now that burning has been banned, and I hope we never go back. If only we could just ban (or even restrict) burning on those portable fire-pits that cause all sorts of respiratory problems for those of us with allergies!
It’s kind of fun shuffling your feet through downed leaves on the sidewalk, though. Even my Sheltie gets a kick out of this! They make such an interesting swooshing sound, much like the sound corduroy pants make when you walk!
When I was on campus last week, the crews were using big blowers to push the leaves into piles. Since ND is so environmentally friendly, I guess they’ll turn these leaves into mulch or something. As for me, I’d hate the thought of having to rake a 1,250-acre piece of property!!
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 