Autumn Images

I miss the Finger Lakes the most in the summer and but especially in the fall. At the peak of color, on a day with temperatures that felt more like an early summer day, we would sit on the dock, and know that the challenging winter days would soon arrive, yet already thinking about the next summer and fall, when the lake would beg you to come and partake.    source

On many autumn trips for me, the Big Apple and Central Park were always so packed with color……source

And the beautiful roads that get you there would literally glow. We used to drive what was called the Cherry Turnpike instead of the NY State Thruway to get to NYC. Although the roads ran pretty much parallel, the Cherry Turnpike had vistas that in autumn could take your breath away. Now in winter……a so totally different experience. It took your breath away before you could utter curse words that you couldn’t see the road for all the blowing snow!           source

The hydrangeas offer faded but still colorful flowers as a backdrop for the sweet fruits harvested and ready for our eating enjoyment.                 source

Fall for me was very much about children….the start of school, the approaching holidays, and seemingly more time to savor the fresh air.       source

Throughout New York and New England, white fences and the blazing color of shrubs and trees somehow make you want to breath deeper when you catch a glimpse. And it feels so good. When the leaves crunch beneath your feet, the experience is magnified.          source

Indian summer days invite a leisurely and summerly canal boat ride, hoping that the day never ends.     source

And my favorite activity of all was riding amid autumns colors. Always my favorite time to ride. No horse show practice, no training, simply my horse and me enjoying time together, no bugs, no humidity or heat.                 source

Even puppies get frisky.       source

There is a song with the words, “I love Paris in the Springtime, I love Paris in the fall”……my Mother loved that song.             source

Rosy cheeks asleep in the fresh air with the hint of a sweet smile on this darling’s face.    source

These are the kinds of back roads I used to ride on. Unfortunately most have been built up.          source

They really can be that intense a red…..almost unreal.              source

Serenity. I loved riding along these kinds of roads, and when a breeze would suddenly come, the leaves would come off the trees and would sideswipe you with their color and musty fragrance. My mount would often snort in response, perhaps even shaking his head in response. When the leaves tumbled down like that, your view could change from one minute to the next…..first there are leaves on the tree, and then there are only a few.            source

I have seen rare harvest moons like this, and they are so mesmerizing.             source unknown

I am still like a kid when it comes to Pumpkin Patches…….stirs all sorts of happy memories……and what a cool kind of crop to grow……what other crop is there that kids can come and harvest with their own joyful exuberance, and running through the patch, trying to find the perfect one that they will claim for themselves with a hearty “Mom, Dad, I found me a pumpkin” !!!!               source

My favorite way to spend an autumn evening…….in front of a fire pit, an indoor fireplace or better yet, a dream outdoor space like this one.   source-Southern Living

I am fortunate to have a reservoir right on my street, and when the fall is colorful, you can often go down and see the trees and colors reflected in the still water. Looks very much like this.        source

good ole Indian Corn……..art on a cob!                      source

Color reflected on the water is hard to beat, especially at sunset.         source

Lake life in the fall……..can’t get much better.                 source

Miss it……                                  source

Whenever I can find a pumpkin with a longer stem I have to have it. Not sure why they don’t leave more on, as they are so interesting in their own right, and lend to more creative options when decorating it.                      source

This image sets the ideal morning for me. Cool and probably brisk…..I would put on my fleece jacket, grab my hot mug of coffee, and head down to the dock to enjoy the stillness and think about absolutely nothing, except how quiet and beautiful it is. Hopefully one of my dogs would accompany me. source

Another of what I think is so special about autumn is the light. When the sun comes through color in the trees, it is soft, and seems to glow velvety like. Even the leaves on the ground seem to radiate a soft glimmer.            source

They have snow ordinances, but thankfully not leaf ordinances. If they do, they shouldn’t.  source-stairway at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

New York is a huge apple producer, and apple festivals abound. I never could resist a good candy apple or better yet – apple cider and a hot cake.              source

Our gardens can offer beautiful images but on a smaller scale. We just have to take time to notice.   source

Colorful cool weather crops, ready as side dishes for the comfort food we never outgrow.   source

Japanese Maples hit a high note when it comes to color.           source

I used to fly quite a bit for my work, and when I had the opportunity to fly in the fall, it was usually such a spectacle. Only from above can you see so much varied color, resembling a earth toned crayola box.          source

Sweetberry and pyracanthas are sure fire, never fail color producers.     source

Autumn, sweet autumn.           source

Best of all……a happy child with a fall sunflower bounty….and ready for Halloween.    source

And I end with perhaps the best of all. Sitting outside, or on a porch or deck, on an Indian Summer day and reading a good book, enjoying a cup of hot tea or coffee, or maybe a glass of wine, while the few leaves remaining on the trees slowly drift back and forth, sometimes spinning, sometimes lifted by a breeze, until they arrive, softly or not so softly to the ground. A metaphor for life? maybe. Laters,   charisse                                  source