Turning Foliage.

Our Indian Summer, which dominated the onset of this month, feels today only as a distant memory. Yet, it has contributed to a truly delayed colour showdown.

We are thus in the midst of a very short and a very intense turn, which I believe will last only a week at the best. It has been only days since the foliage began showing in all the earthy colours of red, copper and golden.
Below are some long overdue updates on our lovely birch. It has lost almost half of its lovely coat and whatever still adores the branches is golden. By each day, the strong westerly winds, with a force so very palpable in these parts, rob the tree of more of its leaves.

When I stand looking out of our kitchen window these days, I always have to pause, looking at the long branches as they sway in my view, like the mane on a palomino, while the air gets saturated by falling leaves, gathering on the ground in heaps, like golden coins. At all times these natural changes instigate in me a sense of security, as yet again the third season moves forward, as does the yearly circle of the birch.

(Please click images for a larger view)

A Touch Of Frost.

At this point, most of the foliage is found on the ground, as it piles up in heaps everywhere, creating a colourful blanket for a short, brilliant while. Before long, it will start decaying, becoming a warm cover for the plant and animal life concealed beneath it, in search of the anticipated winter sleep.

The frequency of frosty nights is increasing and with it, a new kind of art is to be found in nature. A gentle, still only very delicate icing, defining the image of leaves, at times resembling sprinkled sugar coat.
Signaling in no uncertain terms that the arrival of winter is imminent.

Note: To those of you have some spare time and interest, I am a featured as a guest blogger today on my friends Laura's blog. She is a wonderful writer and genuinely kind woman and a true inspiration to me and I am deeply honored she asked me to contribute with a post this month.

Fallen Foliage.

Translated from the Czech language, the name November means Leaf-fall. How true this description rings indeed, as it is in the eleventh month that our trees loose their precious leafy possessions.

Thus everywhere I look, beautifully dyed leaves lie in heaps, in a stunning contrast to the evergreen of the grass or the black of the asphalt, garnishing the ground. While I walk or take a drive, I love to watch the wind play with these copper and golden remains of foliage. Almost as unseen sweepers, the wind gusts pick the leafy leftovers off the ground in colourful whirlpools, like discarded remains of party confetti, long after the celebration has ended. Moving them across the sidewalks and roads, creating a feeling of enchantment, but simultaneously - a certain sense of sorrow. One that can be perceived upon a conclusion of something brilliant...

To me fallen leaves are stunningly beautiful. They continue to create abstract masterpieces of art, while - and long after - the painted landscape slowly turns foggy and grey.
Momentarily, there is nothing more alluring then the rustling of the foliage beneath my feet, as I take late autumn walks on misty days, while the air grows saturated with dampness and the scent of wood burning fires.

A Golden Leaf.

Despite my best effort to ignore the signs of the approaching autumn, they seem to be suddenly everywhere. The weather is still relatively warm, the days are still light, but it is no longer summer here in Scandinavia. I can not adequately put my finger on what exactly happens, however, it doesn't feel like summer any longer. And the amazing thing is that each year this happens from one day to another.

As if by magic, autumn is in the air. First of all, the sunshine is different. It becomes more golden, full with a tint of orange and yellow. Even though the air can still be warm, it has a different scent. The grass grows suddenly more slowly. Gone are the Dandelions and the Daisies. Instead the air is filled with the delicate, fluffy seeds of the Thistle. The Rose Hip bears fruits, the autumn Heather is starting to display the first flowers and the first mushrooms of the season can be found in the woods.
The nature changes in front of our eyes and this is evident mainly on the birch trees outside my windows, which already have the first golden leaves.

I have decided to document the change of their foliage, that takes place through the autumn, as another feature of my "progressive photography", which I am so very fond of. There is a beautiful, majestic birch tree in our yard, just in front of my kitchen window. The grass surrounding it is already covered by the very few first fallen leaves. I will post a picture of it every Sunday, until it stands bare in the beginning of winter.

Welcome to yet another theme of progressive photography. (As always, please click the pictures to enlarge the image.)