The Other Side of Fall
- jeanwphoto
- Oct 28, 2014
- 3 min read
Every year, as the cool nights bring brilliant bursts of colorful fall foliage to MD, my camera gets a real workout as I try to capture the beauty that surrounds me. This year, I had the itch to search out some early fall color, so on a warm Sunday afternoon, I grabbed my camera and headed to an area that overflows with nature. My anticipation waned a bit, as I discovered I was a bit too early for the bold changes in leaf colors, as trees were predominantly green, with just a hint of yellow scattered throughout. Fortunately, though, in the area where I parked that day, there was a small garden of ornamental trees and wildflowers that turned out to offer interesting photo subjects for a fall day.
This golden-colored leaf, speckled with green, was very unique, not only because of its gorgeous color, but because of its near-perfect heart shape. By this time of year, many leaves are often beginning to show tattered edges, or holes left by hungry bugs, but this pretty leaf is definitely an eye-catcher.
In the garden, there were smatterings of purple, daisy-like flowers (I'm not real good at identifying all types of flowers), which were beautiful in the bright sun. The shiny, clear/white threads surrounding the base of the flower glistened in the light, and seemed to enfold the base of the flower in a bed of silk. This was simply beautiufl!
When I came upon this next item (perhaps a large, open seed-pod of some sort?), I immediately thought, "This looks like the face of a dog with a long snout!" The rigid shape around the "snout," accompanied by more of the silky threads that were so prevalent in the garden, seemed to represent long ears hanging down from either side of the "dog's" head (with maybe a hint of a beard). Even the dark spots on the center structure emulate the exact placement of eyes and a nose. What a unique find!
This next seed pod had an extremely intricate design, and, as with others in the garden, attracted some of those wispy, silk-like threads (which, I suspect, carried other seeds...kind of like a dandelion seed...you know, the ones you'd blow into the air as a kid). I love the contrast between the rigidness of the seed pod and the softness of the white silky threads.
These delicate bud-like protrusions, in a beautiful crimson color, seemed to jump out from the more muted colors around them. I couldn't help but examine these very closely, enjoying the varying shades of pink and red seen deep into the "bud." It's amazing how something this small, without regular flower petals, can be so beautiful!
I was really intrigued by this last seed pod, and wish I could identify and explain the infusion of orange and black bugs on it. Perhaps there is an attractive sweetness on the seed pod that lures the bugs, I don't know, but in any case, I love how one end of the seed pod is soft and silky, and the other end is rigid and filled with brightly colored bugs.... complete opposites!
Although my foray into nature on that Sunday afternoon did not result in photos of beautiful fall foliage, I feel like I found some real unique treasures, the "other side of Fall," in the garden that day.
