Fall Friday

Fall Friday

Fall Friday

Fall Friday

Fall Friday

(Well, I guess it's actually Saturday now, but still...)

We're coming up on the mid-point of the Autumn season. I've noticed that the nights have grown fairly silent, the singing insects and frogs of summer gone. The days are quieter, too. There are still a few trees that are just now starting to turn, but many of them have already shed their leaves. Most of the oak and beech trees are covered in brown, dry leaves, which they tend to hold on to through the winter. The sound of the wind whipping through the dry leaves and bare branches really signals that the dark half of the year is setting in.

The sun itself is another signal, of course. Not only is the sun setting earlier and earlier, it stays closer to the horizon each day. Many people notice this, know that the sun doesn't rise as high during the colder months - but not as many seem to notice that the opposite is true for the full moon. The full moons of the dark half of the year will rise higher into the sky than they do during the light half of the year.

The stars also seem to shine brighter in the winter months, and interestingly this is partly because we're actually seeing fewer stars in the sky. During the summer months we're facing more stars, seeing more starlight, which makes the sky seem less clear and focused. Another reason is of course summer weather, there's humidity, heat, summer haze which all helps to obscure the sky a bit. Crisp winter weather means crisper skies.

Bare branches and higher rising moons makes for very well lit nights, of course. It's cold here, but it will be a while before the snow sets in. It's a great time of year to get out and hold rituals in the moonlight, if one is able to do so.

Fall Friday

Windy day at the apple orchard.

Fall Friday

This is a good time of year to look for areas where curly dock (rumex crispus) might be growing around you, as the seeds are very distinctive looking making it easy to spot. Curly dock is edible - the leaves can be gathered in the spring when they'll have the best flavor, the flower stalks can be eaten in the summer months, and in autumn the seeds can be gathered and ground to make a flower of sorts, should one wish to do so.

Fall Friday

Fall Friday - Monday edition!

I'm a little late for Friday, I know, but here are some autumn pictures... There's still plenty of green on the trees, but many are also changing at this point, too. Some of the earlier turners are almost bare already, but that late autumn look is still a few weeks off for most.

Fairs have been coming and going the last few weeks. I've been to plenty in my life, but this last time around it really occurred to me that among all the fried foods and sweets, rides and glowing lights, there really are the roots of something much older.

Recently sheared sheep.

Prizes for the biggest and best vegetables. Local arts and crafts. Horse pulling events, horse racing, and other such competitions. Animal shows, cows being milked, sheep sheared, prize winning poultry. People selling and buying animals. Fresh dairy products for sale, maple syrup, hand dyed yarns, goat's milk soaps and lotions... Many of these things, or similar, could be found at older fairs, and the old get-togethers of clans and tribes. Not just a link to much older history, but the particular fair I went to this year has been running for over 130 years now.


My visit to the fair was a great lead-up to the full Harvest Moon on Saturday night. It was sprinkling a bit, and the moon itself wasn't visible, but it was still high up enough, and bright enough behind the clouds to light the sky up and allow me to see. While I currently do not have a garden, my Grandparents do. They don't grow much in it anymore, tomatoes mostly, and some herbs that continue to grow from years past. Since I ate quite a few of those tomatoes, and used some of the herbs, I used that night to leave some offerings of thanks at the corners of the garden. I also left offerings at the rhubarb and berry patches that I picked from over the summer. Our little harvest has all come in now, a nice end to the warmer months of planting and growing.

Fall Friday

This is the last Friday in Autumn, and so this is my final fall picture until next year. (Although I wouldn't expect this blog to be free from seasonal pictures between now and then, heh...)

Fall Friday

    It may be December, but there are still more a few Fall Fridays to be had...

Fall Friday

Fall Friday

Fall Friday

This one is actually from last year, and a bit earlier in the season, but I wanted to share it today anyway.

Fall Friday

Now with added "hey what's that snow doing there?"

Fall Friday!

Sorry it's a little dark. I'm hoping to get a shot earlier in the day of this particular tree, it's got some great colors on it right now.

Fall Friday

Wow, has it been another week already? Sometimes I'm not sure where the time goes... Hopefully I'll have a bit more time for posting next week!

Fall Friday

This week started off with some unseasonably beautiful weather - sunny, and in the high 70s, low 80s. It felt like summer was giving one last show before the cold set back in. The week has ended with cooler temperatures, 60s, with a good bit of rain. More like the October I know...

Fall Friday

(Click for larger view.)

Fall Fridays!

There's no question that here in New England Fall is a beautiful season. (It also happens to be my favorite season!) I'd like to start a weekly photo series to share that beauty, so every Friday from now until the last Friday of Autumn I'll be posting a picture on that theme.


So here is the first. Technically I took this picture a few days ago, so it wasn't quite fall yet, but I think it's a fitting picture for the first day of Autumn... yellowing grasses catching the fading afternoon light.



(Click for a larger version.)