Autumn, the year's last, and loveliest smile.
William Jennings Bryant
Fall? Or autumn? Which do you prefer? I tend to like "autumn" better, it sounds more lyrical. My college roommate was called, "Autumn". At the time, she was the only person I knew with that name but since then I've met many others with that lovely name.
As I pondered my post today, I kept coming back to the thought that our Theme of the Month, Sunshine and Shadows, is perfect for October. The autumn (or fall, if you prefer) light is mesmerizing, the slant of the sun's rays seem magical. Everywhere I turn, I see little vignettes on which to focus my camera. If I pressed my shutter every time these scenes unfold, I'd be even further behind than I am already. Not good.
From there, my musing took me to the change of seasons. Now, I know many of you don't live in climates where you experience four distinct seasons each year. You have my condolences. Even though I'm not a winter person, I still love the rotation of the seasons, the rhythm it gives my life. And with each season comes a unique set of delights ... and challenges.
Where I live, October is almost three seasons in one month. Throughout the month, the sunshine and shadows dazzle as we go from the early warmth of the month, to the friendly mid-month nip in the air. By the end of the month, we'll have had several overnight frosts and daytime temps won't be as friendly as they were earlier in the month. When October begins, the trees are still lush, with a hint of color. Mid-month, the colors are peaking. If you blink, you'll miss it. By Halloween, the trees are getting bare, if not totally bare already.
It's about this time of year that I begin to mourn the passing of warmth and sunshine. I know that come December, my neck of the woods will be more grey than sunny and January is usually worse, bringing with it the likelihood of occasional snow.
By February, the hope of spring is in the air. Ahhh, yes! I grew up in the northeastern United States and when I moved to Kentucky to go to college one of the nicest surprises was to learn how early spring came to this part of the country. I immediately embraced it ... so much so that I'm still in Kentucky ... oh, a couple of years later.
I love the change of the seasons but I'll confess ... I love autumn and spring most. Each April, I declare that spring is my favorite season ... at least, that is ... until we flip the calendar to October.
With such a perfect confluence of our Theme of the Month and our light patterns, I encourage you to get out as often as you can and shoot the beautiful ... but fleeting ... scenes that are around you every day. And then, share them with us on our FOL Flickr page, tagging them so they'll be included in the In Focus selection.
PS - I'm also musing over at Camper today. I hope you'll catch me there, too.
17 comments:
Spring in February? I just fell off the LaZboy chair. Up here (Nova Scotia)spring doesn't come until late April. I know this having fished in snow storms and had ice on my line after opening day (April 1st). Seasons. Always a fixation for me, weather in general. Blizzards my all-time favourite. Your post made me want to get out today and get some shots. Will do my best. Great start to the week, Dotti.
Such a gorgeous image Dotti of the leaves, beautiful light and colors.
Yes! Love the fall/ Autumn because its a time where that nip in the air pushes me to get out all my favorite sweaters. Also, when the season really dictates what I eat. Steaming soups and hot cocoa :) Our seasons in Utah are pretty dramatic and very different each. I love the obvious changes in our temp as well as our visual mountains.
I take longer walks in the fall... I love Autumn!! Can you tell?? :)
I love the first photo so much! Just beautiful!
Well, in my neck of the woods, we won't see those stunning colors till November. I do love the colors of fall and the anticipation that comes knowing the start of the holidays is near and the fun and togetherness of it all! But, I do not like the winter and we have very mild ones, thank goodness! We do have early springs too and I love that! Spring is my favorite season! Summer is hot hot hot but I don't mind, too much, there's always fall to look forward to!
xo,
Linda
Beautiful photo of the leaves Dotti. I too live in the Northeast, and even though I realllllly don't like winter, I agree. It does add a certain rhythm to our lives. And there are those times that winter can be so beautiful (when you don't have to drive in it). The sparkling bokeh of a snowy shot, branches laying heavy with snow... but too much talk about snow and winter. .. The nip is definitely in the air today here in NY, but it is a sunny day, with lots of photographic possibilities. I'm just trying to embrace the season, cold or not. And since we do NOT begin our spring in February (oh goodness no! That's usually one of the worst months of the winter here!) I need to get out in the beautiful sunshine as much as possible in these next few weeks and capture its beauty as much as I can.
Well, where I live fall has begun as well . . . it is supposed to drop waaaay down into the 80s later this week! We will have a few weeks of glorious weather and then it will get cold ("cold" being a relative term -- usually highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s). And fall here is just a lessening of the heat with no beautiful fall color to go along with it. If we want to see changing leaves, we have to take a ride up into the high country (more about that tomorrow). But I'm not complaining. Come winter when everyone else is shoveling snow, I'll be smiling like a Cheshire cat!
Dotti, I LOVE your photo of the sunlight streaming through the leaves! Stunning to be sure!
Oh that first photo of the leaves is really divine, and reminds me of my falls growing up in the midwest. Before moving to the gulf coast we lived in the Dallas area for 15 years and although it didn't compare to my childhood changing of the seasons, we certainly did get some color, and the Shumard Red Oak in our front yard never disappointed!! But . . . there is even less color here, unless of course you count the color change in some of the palm trees (haha), and we have a lot of Live Oak's that never change or lose their leaves. But I can say that in no way do I miss the sloshy wet snow, or the shoveling of it at all, and although we don't typically get snow, we have had in the past few years gotten the occasional hail mary snow here that is celebrated by all and usually shuts the city down for a couple of days! lol For me, the biggest sign of the changing of seasons, besides that instead of 100 it is about 80, is the length of the days.
You are so right, Kim! The shortening of the days is the one thing I don't look forward to. Love the summers when the days are so long and we don't even do Daylight Savings Time here.
Pick yourself up ... I said "hope" of spring ... sunshine, birds, a warm day or three. Spring can be very volatile here but it's lovely. So happy you visited!
Thank you, Barbara! And thanks for stopping by.
Yes ... I savor soups this time of year, too. Hmmm. In fact, that's not a bad idea ... I might just have to brew up a pot tomorrow.
I honestly cannot decide ... Spring? Fall? Fall? Spring? I think I'll just savor each in its own time.
Oh, Judy ... I lived in West Chester NY for a few years as a girl. I can remember autumn in the Hudson River Valley. Breathtaking! Can't wait to see your photos.
Thank you, Terri! No ... you don't have to shovel snow ... but I'm not sure I could take a desert summer. We're all so engrained with what we're used to, aren't we?
Ahh, yes ... phooey to the shorter days, definitely!
That is the one thing I miss about living so far north, spring comes mighty late. Growing up in Dallas we did have a "little" winter, but by my birthday, March 10th, the signs of spring were abundant. But I will have to say, I so enjoy the Fall (Autumn) here. The colors, the definite change in the weather, the earlier sunset makes me want to snuggle in bed earlier and earlier with the Fall here. Your photos are beautiful and capture that color of Autumn perfectly.
Thank you, Deanna! And you're right ... something about the shorter days, longer evenings ... I find it hard to stay awake! Your fall pictures are witness to the beautiful fall you have going on in your neck of the woods.
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