Autumn Beauty

I cried over beautiful things knowing no beautiful thing lasts. ~ Carl Sandburg

It is still beautiful but you can tell the trees are slightly beyond peak in the woods behind my house.  Close to the house the leaves on the ground are still colorful but down near the stream they are drained of color.

Some fiery maples are still to be found.  A backlit autumn maple is hard to beat.

The native witch hazels (Hammamelis virginians) are blooming. This is normal for them and contrasts with Spring blooming hybrids. It certainly is a treat to see their yellow, spidery flowers. I recently learned that witch hazel branches were traditionally used as divining rods to locate sources of water in olden days.

Dave liked these special maple leaves with their day-glow veining.

A man and his dog.....  Lucy and Dave walk in the reservation nearly every day. Lucy really needs a haircut!

We are going to get heavy rain tomorrow, which will make all the colors look especially saturated.  But the leaves will soon be gone after that, so I plan to enjoy them.