I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Chosen by me.
Picked at the last minute (because I forgot it was my turn), the theme of
Trees practically jumped out of my heart and into our theme choice for us "headbangers" this week. I've spent almost the whole month of October watching the trees turn from their usual summer green to the beautiful jewel tones of autumn. Here is the uncropped image I chose for my header:
I chose the above image because it cropped nicely for the header. I love the brilliant colors contrasted with the water of the lake and the white and blue of the sky. I love the vertical lines of the white birch tree trunks, and the gently curving shoreline.
More favorites, continuing with my week-long Lake Bonaparte visit. One day we went for a pontoon boat ride when the water was sheet-of-glass still. Below is one of the images I captured.
Another day, Dad and Mom took me out in the Caddy (my grandpa's old aluminum boat) for a final condensed boat ride, and ended up in Mud Lake, an extension off of the main lake. It's owned by the U.S. Army, but as long as we stay in our boat we're fine. :)
I took the below image as we were leaving Mud Lake. The lily pads added to the depth of beauty and color I saw, and I took the photo at just the right moment. It's hard capturing a scene in a constantly moving boat--the scenery is always changing and I had a split second to compose the image and capture what my eye saw!
Back on land at the lake, I took an early morning 30-degree (that's -1 Celsius, Mac!) walk down Hermitage Road to the nature preserve, then back around to turn off at Hotel Road which leads toward the lake and my parents' lake home. Below is the entrance to Hotel Road. I love the variety in the image--some live trees, some dead, all different types of trees, and all different stages of color. This image currently graces my computer as the screen saver.
I looked up into one tree at the corner and snapped this one.
Speaking of looking up, back at home, I took this picture looking up into the spruce trees at The Morton Arboretum. I converted the image to black and white due to the chromatic aberration (purple fringing around the edges of the trees) I got from shooting up into bright light and sun. These tall spruces were gently swaying in the breeze as if talking to each other, and down below where I stood was peace and quiet, most sounds muffled and muted by the needled pathway.
Other images from the arboretum are below, taken over several trips in search of autumn's glory.
Pathway along Loop 4 (one of my favorite walks), colors at their perfect peak.
I'm posting two photos I hadn't realized I had taken until I uploaded the second "peak color" one; I took them about ten days apart. What a difference a week makes!
Yellow forest scene.
I have one last photo to share--Jake's tree, right in my own back yard. It was at its peak color a few days ago, so I stood at the back edge of my vegetable garden and shot toward the house to get this late afternoon image with the sun at my back illuminating the colors.
I love trees, especially during that one perfect week in autumn when they show their brilliant, glorious colors, as if to remind me to soak it in before the world turns white and gray and the waiting begins for rebirth of spring color.
Treasuring life's moments,
Christine
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