Young Deer Antlers?

That's what these frost-covered catalpa  branches, glistening in the morning sun, brought to my mind. Sunshine and frost, though, make everything lovely. A clear, blue sky after a warm holiday at home -- what could be better?

When Red and Orange Are Gone

The sumac and maple have had their day by the first of November, and it's time for a quieter autumn palette. As days grow shorter and colder, the warmth of toasty, golden browns on branches and on the ground below is welcome, gladdening the eye in all kinds of weather. Soon only occasional pale and tattered leaves will cling to stripling beech, and clusters of darker brown oak leaves will be much fewer, as well, as we enter the black-and-white season of Up North winter.

Some of My Favorite Photoshop Possibilities

Through a rainy windshield --

Here's one of the least exciting shots from last Wednesday, and here it is again and again and again.

Increasing saturation makes for brighter color.

The distortion called crosshatching gives an interesting effect.

Ink outlines is very dramatic!

Just as a wonderful movie can be made from a mediocre book (yes, a lousy movie can be made from a great book, too...), a mediocre image can sometimes be turned into something quite magical.

Can't Get Enough of October Orchards

Here is the orchard kitty-corner SE from St. Wenceslaus Church.  My neighborhood is beautiful all year, but it is especially lovely right now. Below is the view on the old Lee Mann Road, looking west, where the dark green of the pines between a yellow mass of maples and the more complex yellow of the orchard caught my eye.

Finally, here are two shots of the same orchard on Eagle Highway, taken on the same day, just moments apart, first viewed through a rainy windshield and then with no filtering medium between camera and trees.

Sous un Ciel Couvert

On rainy fall days, the bark of trees is darker, and the bright colors of leaves take on the look of Japanese lacquer.


Small, unexpected close-up views look like fantastic potential jigsaw puzzles.

Not surprisingly, the ground beneath different species of trees varies with the canopies above.