Autumn Walks

With the cooler days,

the leaves have begun to change colour and have started to fall.

The geraniums are still blooming and will continue to do so until the first frosts.

This lovely area above the lake is called Mont Pèlerin

My son drove me up here recently on a very short visit to Switzerland.

It was still so warm that we had to peel off our jackets.

There was a lovely wooded area too with the sunshine illuminating the leaves.

Nearer home, both in my neighbourhood and down at the park,

the leaves seem to change in colour daily.

These are from a line of trees in the street in my neighbourhood.

My favourite time for walks is late afternoon when the lighting is so beautiful

When green and orange-browns mingle

Down to the Mont Repos Park to see the new plantations.

The flowerbed is looking beautiful and the chrysanthemums in the big pots

will look wonderful when the tiny buds open.

I walk down to the park regularly.

A closer look at the lovely leaves

The hydrangea are still blooming

I really like the leaf decorated paving stones near the little park café under the chestnut trees.

These are just two of the many. They are all different.

Rich purple Asters in lovely contrast to the other autumn colours

The first chrysanthemum buds are starting to open

It seems to be a good year for berries

Their shiny bright colour makes me linger as I admire them on my walk

Leaves bob up and down in a slight breeze against the colourful blur of the background

After some night rain, a leaf still holds a tiny lake of rainwater in the shade

Tiny St. John's Wort wild flowers still bloom

Here is a larger version which is often planted on slopes in gardens 

Here are my favourite leaves of the month so far. I have used them for this month's header.

A collage of some of my much loved scenes as I went on my autumn walks.

Day 11 - Mystery

Today's walk took me into shady spots along the stream in my neighbourhood.

I loved how the dark areas were partially illuminated by the bright sun

and how the green of the leaves looked so fresh and inviting.

Everything looked a little mysterious

and it reminded me that we don't always need to see the whole picture.

Sometimes, just one moment at a time is sufficient.

Just one moment.

Now

is all that is needed

to see the essential.

Seeing beyond looking.

Leaf Philosophy

"Shall we let go?"

said the leaf on the left

"Not yet"

said the leaf on the right.

"Rain is on the way" said their fallen sisters, already lying on the ground.

"You will join us soon enough. It is our destiny."

"So be it", said the two leaves still hanging onto the branch.

"We will accept the wind and rain which will take us onto the next part of our life's journey."

A hedgehog scuttled by in the early morning, muttering to himself,

still looking for the perfect spot to hibernate!

A black car in the street

 wishing it had been sprayed another colour

Wish granted!

The golden Ginkgo leaves released themselves from the tree, their mother,

like excited children leaving the nest with a flourish of anticipation.

A friendly crevice in the stone steps gave them shelter

until they decided what to do next!

The beech trees in the park yesterday

were releasing their leaves like zigzagging butterflies doing their love dances in the spring.

All the elements of nature

so closely connected

creating the cycle of life.

The earth in which a young sapling grows into a sturdy tree

tiny buds form on branches and then leaves fall in autumn

and create compost which nourishes the roots of the tree.

The days are much shorter and the longer evenings give us more time

 to be creative

to reflect

to read

to be at one with the season.

Colour Me Autumn!

Let's start with the Tulip Tree against a clear October sky

and zoom in on the top of the tree to get the full golden glow

Or an early evening walk past an orchard in shades of spring

yet the leaves in the foreground tell us otherwise

So gorgeous when the golden leaves take on a burnished hue

Maple leaves showing us their transition of the season

Many leaves are falling and we can see next spring's buds against the sky

Three little berries that the birds will soon find

and a Ginkgo biloba turning gold in front of the local school

A glorious show of red Maple leaves

like flames against the blue of the sky

A close-up of some beautiful colours in the park.

Persian Ironwood turn the most marvellous colurs in the autûmn.

Standing on tiptoe to capture these leaves at the top of a bush in the evening sun.

Persian Ironwood again (Parrotia persica)

As soon as I see the start of a sunset, I grab my camera to try and catch

the rapidly changing colours.

The sunsets have been exceptional

and I have often rushed out right after supper to capture them  in nearby streets

where there are less obstacles of buildings.

I have to move fast before they fade away! 

Coming home through the park, I was suddenly dazzled

by this wonderful sun-flare through a gap in the tree trunk.

We have been having an exceptional month of October with temperatures

varying between 18-22C.

I've been collecting seeds from the plants on my balcony garden.

These remind me of little parachutes and are so pretty!

Returning from my early evening walk, I caught the first signs of the pastel sunset¨

in these reflections on a wall behind a young Ginkgo tree.

Pink anemone against a backdrop of autumnal bokeh

Here's my little owl mascot holding up an autumn leaf!

I hope you're all enjoying the wonderful colours of the season wherever you live.

I shall be taking a short blog break as I'm going on holiday at the end of the week.

See you again at the end of this month!

Till then, enjoy the wonderful season!

***

Note:

All photographs have been taken in my immediate neighbourhood.

Who would have thought that there was such beauty on the upper part of town?

September Delights

Nature reminds us that the autumn equinox is fast approaching.

The berries are ripening and the leaves are changing.

We are getting more rain after a very hot and dry summer,

but everything looks so fresh and colourful, thanks to the changing of the season.

Fallen leaves are starting to appear everywhere

Seedpods are forming on the flowers, like on this cone flower.

Lichen and fungus are growing on tree trunks

showing us their own kind of beauty

Raindrops glisten

A recent walk down by the lake shows the late blooming flowers

A tiny aster blooms on my balcony

The last dahlia buds have opened in the last few days of brilliant sunshine

and an autumn rose blooms in a neighbouring garden.

But the plums are ripe and perfect for making tarts,

like this traditional one I made yesterday, for the Jeûne Fédéral holiday,

which is always on the third Monday of September

in the canton of Vaud where I live.

The collage shows the different stages of the tart making.

The plums are dark purple in colour. They need a little sweetening

with Sucanat, a natural brown cane sugar.

I make my own shortcrust pastry from a recipe by Julia Child.

I hope that you are also taking pleasure in the joys of the season!