Saturday, October 6, 2007

Fall color


It has been a week of cotton candy skies.
Glowing mornings, glorious evenings, blue days in between.
But, where there should be autumn’s color in the trees, they stand brown and lifeless. A contrast to the fall changes across the yard.

The goldenrod is in its glory. The fields buzz with eager bees, faces buried in the warm, delicious blossoms. Orange pollen bags filled to the brim as they tirelessly work each flower.




I almost mistook this Locust Borer for a wasp. His black and yellow striped abdomen should have scared me away, if I hadn’t looked so closely.




Clouded Sulphurs and Cabbage Whites dance and spiral across the flower tops. Their field is dotted white with asters.




The red and golden trees usually steal my attention in October.
But, this year, I can’t take my eyes off the field and its fall color.


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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful words and images. I, too, love fall fields.

Mary said...

Fall field are captivating and you are showing wonderful images.

We won't have color this year, either, Nina. Our trees are stressed and have started dropping green leaves. Maybe we'll see a colorful display next year!

Meanwhile, you are finding the best!

nina at Nature Remains. said...

The brownness and lack of color in everything else seems to make it even more vibrant. I'm guessing its this lovely every year--this year I'm more thankful for it.

cestoady said...

Another very lovely photo -essay. Jennifer is right, the words and images ARE beautiful. The essay reminds us that beauty is everywhere ---- you just have to know where to look.

Technical Note : The Locust Borer pictured here is an excellent example of Batesian mimicry, where a palatable species (Borer) looks like an unpalatable or noxious one ( wasp) ,and thus fools a predator like a bird. However,it did not fool Nina for long, who is smarter than any bird alive.

Kathi said...

Yes, the hot, dry weather (who ever heard of 90's in Oct for goodness sake?!) has really done a number on the fall foliage. My recent trip to the Hocking Hills showed very little color in the trees. I, too, am noticing fields and meadows more without the trees to distract me. At least the sumac, tupelo, and Virginia creeper can be counted on for some reds this year.

~Kathi

Q said...

Your autumn fields are lovely!
The bugs and blooms are exquisite.
Hope you are still taking care of leg!
Beautiful photos.
Sherry

dguzman said...

I love walking around the fields, seeing the fall colors of the goldenrod and aster. Even the brown dryness is beautiful in its own harsh way.