Thursday, September 29, 2011

Autumnal Bliss

I LOVE Fall. In my world, the sky would be a periwinkle blue with fluffy cumulous clouds...the weather a perpetual crisp 65-70 degrees with a slight breeze, the grass would have the beginning of leaves on the ground and it would always be Autumn. I love everything about the season....except for the fact that it ends way too quickly and gives way to bitter cold. The crunchy leaves, the colors... I love the deep reds and oranges, the yellows, browns, purples, and the last green holdouts. I don't mind the occasional dark and dreary day, the one where napping seems like the only logical choice along with hunkering down inside for movies, puzzles, and imaginary play. I love bringing out the sweaters, feeling engulfed in an oversized hooded sweatshirt, and sporting my tall black boots for the first time in months.

I love the smells of Autumn...the pumpkin spices and apple cider donuts...the inside air when the first pot of soup is boiling on the stove...candles being lit...the heat turned on for the first time.  I even like the damp smell that a rainy Autumn day brings.  I love football on Sundays and jumping in the leaves, parent nights, and open houses.  I love the abundance of squirrels in the neighborhood, the apple orchards, pumpkin farms, and strolls in the forest preserves.  I love the newness in our lives as school and activities resume amidst the background of the end of the trees' yearly cycle.

But the sights...the sights are my favorite. The shadows the light plays as the sun begins to set earlier and earlier...the drops of rain on the leaves...the magenta and gold smattered with deep greens and browns. The colors on those overcast days just pop and I see things in the shadows I normally wouldn't. Just walking around my property with my camera intentionally paying attention to the details makes me so much more aware of the awesomeness of the season. I love it. Everything about it...until that first blustery day...in my perfect world, it would always be autumn.
















Solemn flowers...They look how I feel some days!


Cole couldn't wait to get outside to play. 5 days in a row of rain is too many!


The wind didn't have a chance to remove these leaves from the sidewalk.

5 days in a row of rain left a lot of leaves scattered on the sidewalks.

We made it outside to play in the hour window of no rain. The drops of the leaves were beautiful.
                           







The last hold out...



A lot of the trees in our neighborhood have been attacked by disease. This tree in our front yard had limbs chopped off. I found this single leaf growing from the cut limb.









I plan on venturing out and taking more Autumn photos in the next few weeks as the colors are at their peek.  These pictures were all taken in my yard within the last week.  I made it a point not to touch or manipulate anything I naturally discovered and the photos are minimally edited.  I move myself to get different views without touching a single leaf or flower. I can't wait for the rain to stop so I can get out and capture more of the season.




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