Every Leaf Speaks Bliss

It's been brought to my attention by a couple of folks (thanks SD and Lu) that if you receive my (or anyone's) blog posts or notifications by email, and you are commenting or replying to that email, your message will get lost in cyberspace as there is a "no reply" non-address set up by Blogger when these emails are generated by them. If you have been responding to those notifications, I thank you kindly but I've never seen your remarks.

You can comment on this and future blog posts, if you wish (and I sure hope you do), by clicking on the link to my blog and commenting there or please drop me a line at thesmittenimage@gmail.com.

Below are a few autumn photos and quotes. I hope you enjoy them.

"It is only her in large portions of Canada that wonderous second wind, the Indian summer, attains its amplitude and heavenly perfection, the temperatures; the sunny haze; the mellow, rich delicate, almost flavoured air: Enough to live -- enough to merely be." ~ Eleanor Myers Jewett

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." ~ Elizabeth Lawrence

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." ~ Emily Bronte

"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods. And day by day the dead leaves fall and melt."
~ William Allingham

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ~ Albert Camus

"A woodland in full color is awesome as a forest fire, in magnitude at least, but a single tree is like a dancing tongue of flame to warm the heart." ~ Hal Borland

"Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay." ~ Robert Browning

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad." ~ Edwin Way Teale

"Swinging on delicate hinges the autumn leaf almost off the stem."~ Jack Kerouac

"A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long." ~ e. e. cummins

Autumn Burned Brightly

"Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees." ~ Faith Baldwin

Psssst.. wake up! It's time for a morning walk in the woods. I know it's chilly and damp in here, and it feels so nice to stay under the blanket but hear me out.

I glanced out of the cottage window just now, and though the sky is heavy with grey clouds, I think the sun is considering making an appearance. The trees across the lake don't look very autumn-like, do they? But just wait until that break in the clouds allows the sun to streak through from behind us...

Ahhh.. I see you're scrambling to get your hiking shoes on. Grab a coffee on your way out. You'll need it to keep warm.

No doubt, you'll need to make a quick stop here, first. There's so many of you who are suddenly waking up to this autumn day. Good thing it's a two-seater.

Just follow Benny. He knows his way around here.

Did you see this sprig of colourful leaves hit me on the head just now? You couldn't get more freshly-fallen than that.

About a half mile down the road, we come upon this lovely marsh. Let's just have a look from here and then continue along the main road.

On our left, you can see the famous Badger's Burn. Famous for what? I don't know but I think it's a clever use of a rusted old chair.

I love how the sunlight filters through the trees. See that dash of white up ahead? It's just Benny making sure we're still with him.

The moss-covered rocks always catch my eye while out walking this road.

That coffee is beginning to remind me that we should head back about now. Benny is already making his way home. I think he might have heard a distant gunshot - it's hunting season around here. I can't imagine that anything short of starvation would motivate me to shoot a deer with anything but my camera. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me the morning we saw two does directly in front of the car on the road to town. They were there again a couple of hours later when we returned. I grabbed my camera at that time and walked over to where they had been. Alas, a photograph was not meant to be had but the mental snapshot will stay with me forever.

And here we are back at the cottage. Ladies, the outhouse is to your right if you need it. Of course there are facilities indoors, as well. You guys can't fool me - I saw each one of you sneak off into the woods for a moment.

Thanks for joining me on a country morning walk. Time to cook up a hearty breakfast.

Of course, I'm not still at the cottage. There's no internet connection there but I thought I'd revisit via a few photographs, and bring you along with me. I hope you enjoyed your morning hike.

Polychromatic and Posts of the Week

Before I get into autumn leaves, I wanted to share a couple of colourful images which caught my eye late last month, when the weather was particularly warm and summer-like.

We were just returning from a walk around the pond when we happened upon this little girl - a guest at a neighbour's birthday party. She might have been hoping that she could float along with her balloons.

A few days later, we took a day trip to a town called Port Perry, Ontario. We were walking along the main street when this psychedelic van drove by. The driver saw me lift the camera to my eye and she smiled proudly.

And now without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. I have fewer than usual this week because I'm still trying to catch up on reading, and on uploading and sorting through my own photos. Hopefully I'll have more for you next time but I hope you enjoy this week's selections.

And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.

A Quest for Support

Thanksgiving Comes First
by Jim
at Suldog


A Good Story

And Then I Caught My Breath
by Linda
at Ye Olde Crone's Gazette


A Good Read

Smokey Fall Moon
by Zuzana
at Life Through Reflections


Good Photography

Illusions
by Daniel
at Daniel's View


A Good Laugh

Re: Incarnation
by Jim
at Suldog

Just Plain Good

Who's Feeling Seussesque?
by Leah
at The Goat's Lunch Pail

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you.

Autumn Gardens

I've been away from my own computer for over two weeks. About nine of those days were spent up at the cottage away from a internet connection. It's going to be a while before I can catch up but I'll be visiting, posting and replying to comments again before too long. Hopefully.

When we cross the street in front of Frank's place, we find ourselves in a beautiful piece of land complete with fertile fields, a meandering creek and a small butterfly garden. Earlier this summer, another butterfly garden was built not too far from the pond in my own local park. We're very lucky to have such lovely sights to see so close to our respective homes.

Asters attract all sorts of beautiful insects including the wonderful Monarch as it pauses during its migration. This one danced around from flower to flower until it finally sat still long enough to pose for this photo.

A busy bee buzzed around nearby.

And an interesting little yellow-green beetle tip-toed around the petals.

Jerusalem Artichoke grows wild and tall in the field.

These fluffy pink plants were growing at my local park.

Head bent, seeds gone and petals withered - this sunflower has seen better days.

I'll be back in a few days with some autumn leaves

Playing With the Sun

All of the following photos were taken late in the day, when the sun was lowering itself toward the horizon. That golden sunlight, just before sunset always gives such warm, rich colour to everything it touches.

Come along with me and we'll see if we can hold onto the sunlight for just a few more minutes before it bids goodnight to the day.

Late day sunlight has the Midas touch. Most everything it touches turns to gold - like these burrs.

Remember doing hand shadows? None of mine ever had golden eyes.

This is a delicate-looking plant of an unknown (to me) variety. You can see the tiny spots which once contained seeds.

Some days it feels like you can just touch the sun.

I took this image on a windy day. I liked how the sunlight touched the flowers on the other side of the chain link fence. If you look closely, you can see the out-of-focus, wavy criss-cross of the fence links which appear to be part of the background, but are really in the foreground.

Hold on for just a little bit longer. Don't let the sun slip through your fingers.

This interesting little bug crawled all over the sunlit goldenrod.

When I was finished playing with the sun, it bounced along the water to tease me. It seems it wasn't quite finished playing with me.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

When I was putting together this collection of images, it struck me that it was full of signs. In some cases, literally. In other instances, I simply saw indicators of an upcoming event or the status of a current situation.

The combination of rolling countryside, multiple road signs, colourful wildflowers and rows of harvested crops is a good sign that we're no longer in the city.

A red maple leaf is often the first sign of autumn.

Indian Balsam is a sure sign that summer has come to an end.

Their seed pods grow plump. This one has attracted a small seed from a different plant.

The slightest touch causes them to burst open with a silent pop, resulting in the scattering of the seeds contained within. They're quite irresistible - like bubble wrap.

Another sign of the season's change - a cloud of grackles flying south.

This was a sign I snapped from the highway on a "drive-by shooting." No, I wasn't doing the driving.

A message written on a park bench "Wanna get high?" and its reply "Only with U."

This little guy is a pretty good sign that the lake water is healthy.

And here is a universal sign of hope.

Like a Walk in the Park

It's been ages since we've taken a walk around the pond path together. There's some mulled apple cider by the door - the spiced rum is optional. Please grab a cup and join me.

My own front yard offers this sedum (Autumn Joy) bloom in its early, pink stages of opening.

It must have rained earlier. These droplets on a broad leaf sure do catch the eye.

More proof of the recent rain.

This is my favourite spot at my local park and I've photographed it often. The subtle changes of autumn have begun to take place. Look closely to the right of the tree roots and you'll see Mr. Blue fishing the shore.

A Queen Ann's Lace, closed up tight. Lots of tiny seeds adorn each little bloom.

Here's how it looked wide open, in full bloom. Notice the tiny red flower in the center? My bloggy pal Linda pointed that out to me in one of her earlier blog posts. I never noticed the red petals before and now I look for it every time. Thanks, Linda!

And last, but not least, one of my favourite late summer to early autumn flowers - the wild chicory. Such a pretty shade of blue.

I hope you enjoyed the walk. Let's do it again sometime soon.

This is a scheduled post. In all reality, I didn't just walk around the pond because Frank and I are up at the cottage for a few days for one last visit, this year. Still, feel free to help yourself to the cider. It's virtually a bottomless cup.