This was a bumper year for caterpillars, and hardly a tree could be seen whose leaves hadn’t been transformed into lacy mesh. (During the summer, when the caterpillar population was highest, word was that you could hear the sound of the munching up in the trees.) This years selection of fallen leaves, therefore, shows more than a hole or two. While perhaps not conventionally picture-perfect, these leaves are photogenic in their own offbeat way.
As if I could let fall pass by without posting some gratuitous leaf shots.
These photos were all from a few weeks ago. Since then, some windy days and nights have cleared the leaves from all but the most stubborn of trees.
Even though I have mostly moved on from photos of leaves to photos of snow and ice, it is still officially fall for another 8 days. I wasn’t especially thinking of that when I took these photos in the woods behind my house this afternoon. I was just admiring the way the fern leaves curled and contrasted with the sharp straight lines of the pine needles.
The late afternoon sun also cast some crisp sharp shadows on these crisp leaves.
As we head into late November, there are fewer leaves still clinging to their branches. I do enjoy the splashes of color offered by these stubborn holdouts.
While I tend to think of buds as signs of spring, some shrubs form their buds in the fall. These colorful rhododendron leaves and buds caught my eye a few mornings ago as they caught some rays of the morning sun.
These were some photos I took two years ago at Storm King Art Center.
It won’t be long before my photos of leaves will be swapped out for photos of ice and snow. Here’s to enjoying these last splashes of fall color. (Even if most of the fall color is now to be found on the ground.)
These Japanese maple leaves curl up so gracefully as they shrivel.
After another hectic week, and being up too late, I’m feeling rather shrivelled myself today. Also like I want to curl up into myself. (I just don’t think I am doing so with the same grace as these leaves.)
This was a photo from 2011, from late-ish November. That fall was a particularly mild one, and one of my favorite local places to pick apples was still open for pick-your-own. The afternoon was a beautiful one for both picking apples and taking photos. (I posted quite a few photos from that excursion back in 2011, but this one seems not to have made the cut.) The late afternoon sun made everything glow in warm and bright hues, living up to the promise of the golden hour. In this shot, I love the way the lens flare made orange blobs over the image, which echo the glow of the orange leaves on the apple trees.
A few days ago, while waiting for the school bus, I noticed a cluster of oak leaves being illuminated by the low afternoon sun. I was quite pleased that I was able to capture some of their striking orange glow.
(I couldn’t decide which of these 3 I liked best, so I’m just sharing all 3.)
collecting tokens 