Fall Colours

 I’m busy marking today, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t wander out in the sunshine with my camera

 and share some of the garden’s fall glory with you . . .

 Such a distinctive palette autumn offers us . . .

 a mature palette

 with rich depths and surprising bright accents

 subtle glints

 ageing at its most attractive, no?

 A rather elegiac beauty, but nonetheless lovely for that hint of melancholy

 And speaking of melancholy, I suppose I should wander back to my armchair and marking pen. . .

 Are you enjoying the fall colour where you are? Or is your summer still hanging on? Perhaps an early-onset winter? Or, in the southern hemisphere, another season altogether with summer’s ease finding you in linens and flip-flops?

We’ve switched over to our winter curtains now and the woodstove is giving off its comforting heat as nights bring that flirtation with frost that seems novel for a few days each year until familiarity breeds contempt. . . .

8 Comments

  1. Sheila
    20 October 2011 / 2:31 am

    I do love that deep warmth from a wood stove – you are making me miss having one!

    Love all the fall foliage! It's so inspiring.

    Thank you so much for reading/commenting on my blog! I really appreciate it. 🙂

    Cheers,
    Sheila

  2. Tiffany
    20 October 2011 / 2:57 am

    I love autumn. The tinge of melancholy really is essential to its beauty, don't you think?

    We've had a pretty cool, wet spring so far, but the weather has just decided to warm up now (because I bought velvet jeans and pink cashmere, of course). I love the effect on my garden, but as ever I find myself woefully under-prepared in the wardrobe department …

  3. Raquelita
    20 October 2011 / 3:12 am

    These photos are so gorgeous. It's been so windy (and now blustery) here that a lot of the leaves are already off the trees, which always makes me feel a little bit sad. I like my autumn's to have a strong streak of Indian Summer to them. Your post is reminding me that I should make sure to wander out for a walks as a break from piles of grading.

  4. Patricia
    20 October 2011 / 5:03 am

    Rain, rain and more rain …!

  5. indigo16
    20 October 2011 / 12:30 pm

    Oh for a stove like your, I am layered up at home until He Who Must Be Obeyed turns the heating on. Our house is super draughty so the sudden onset of biting winds and frost has sent me running for my thermals!
    I am now in socks and pumps for work, I tried so hard to make until half term but it is bitter here now. Luckily Istanbul looks a few degrees warmer.

  6. Susan Tiner
    20 October 2011 / 3:45 pm

    Beautiful photos, as always.

    Summer has been hanging on here, although when we woke up it was 53 F, a little cooler than usual. The leaves on some of our trees are starting to turn yellow and gold, a hopeful sign :).

    Good luck with the marking.

  7. Mardel
    20 October 2011 / 4:10 pm

    Thank you for the colors! I have missed the reds this year. Our colors are all yellow and brown. The trees have looked like over-watered houseplants, fading into nothingness. I will stop there before I depress myself.

  8. materfamilias
    21 October 2011 / 5:51 am

    Sheila: I know! Wood stove heat is such a comforting heat. I do feel lucky to have it.
    Tiffany: Velvet jeans? With that pink cashmere? Perfection! And yes, I think the melancholy is part of fall's broody attraction.
    Raquelita: We generally go soggy way too quickly to enjoy much colour here, so I try to get out and grab photos when the rusts and reds and golds are glowing. . .
    Patricia: Sounds like dramatic rain, crazy!
    Alison: Yes, I'd give you sympathy, but you'll be in Istanbul so soon.
    Susan: So your temps are similar to where we've been, but we're dropping quite quickly now.
    Mardel: And you can usually get such wonderful colour there, no? Especially at your place, with so many trees.

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