Autumn Photos: Falling in Love with Fall Again…

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."  John Muir

Halsey Pond in the Fall

Autumn Brook by Olegas Kurasovas

Autumn is such a wonderful time of the year.  Isn't it? It welcomes what I like to call the 2nd half of the four seasons that most of us enjoy around the world. I never tire of watching the foliage change colors in the fall and, on any given day, you can look around you and see nature perfectly coordinating and combining shades of gold, red, browns, orange, yellow and variations on those shades and, of course, the evergreens.

A few other things that make fall so precious is the harvest, the abundance of fall foods, and the many holidays that fall during this time of year; Halloween, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. There is a beautiful park in my village, Halsey Park, and it has such wonderful life forms and changing leaf colors that you can't help but want to visit it again and again for a walk and to reflect on the beauty of nature.  As Yoko Ono said in a wonderful quote "...Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence..." 



For this week's prompt, MamaKat has given us a selection of excellent questions to answer and while I am tempted to ramble on about each one, I will stick with autumn as it's the perfect theme for this time of the year... that is before the snow blows in and covers everything with its soft, blanket of white.

The Prompts:

1.) Have you ever had a fight with a long time best friend and never made up? Do you think about her from time to time and think about contacting her? What would you say? What if it didn't work out? What if it did?
2.) The perfect fall photo...share a picture that defines fall for you in your neck of the woods.
3.) CONTROVERSY! Are the new security measures performed by the TSA really that bad? Take a stance!
4.) What inspires you to write?
5.) "If you could relive any moment in your life, what moment would you choose?  Write about it."

Naturally, I chose #2 and must admit that I couldn't help but add a few more than the requisite one picture. As I sifted through both my personal collection and the gorgeous photographs I gleaned from National Geographic, I had to share a few more with you... See the rest of my photos below and do share what you love visually about fall.

"Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits." Samuel Butler

Overlord-l'Assaut in France

Floating Leaves and Needles by Sam Abell

You can't enjoy a weekend fall day without adding a few words of wisdom from a good book left on the  kitchen shelf or on your living room coffee table. There are so many odes written in honor of autumn/fall that when I did a quick Google search, I came up with ...1,420,000! Yes, even I was impressed.  Can you imagine hundreds of years of joyous proclamations about the bounty of fall? Not so surprising then, right?

Since there were so many to pick from, I have shared a few poems in honor of the season below for your enjoyment. In a few weeks, old man winter will seize the day and keep us spellbound with freezing, frosty cold weather and some inches of snow.

For now, at least in New York, we are still enjoying the remnants of fall as the colorful leaves bid us good bye and get swept away by huge trucks with gigantic metal teeth.  Do you have a favorite Autumn poem or saying you'd like to share? Please let me know when you leave a comment below.

Equinox Flowers by Danuta Lacka

A bit of color in Caen

Autumn Days by Will Carleton

Yellow, mellow, ripened days,
Sheltered in a golden coating;
O'er the dreamy, listless haze,
White and dainty cloudlets floating;
Winking at the blushing trees,
And the sombre, furrowed fallow;
Smiling at the airy ease,
Of the southward flying swallow
Sweet and smiling are thy ways,
Beauteous, golden Autumn days.
 
October's Party by George Cooper
October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

Natagiri Pass Path by Michael Yamashita

Parc De La Nation, Paris

 Autumn Leaves by Johnny Mercer 
Les Feuilles Mortes with lyrics by poet Jacques Prevért. 
The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall.

What do you do to celebrate the shifting seasons? What is fall like in your part of the world? Do you have a favorite time of the year? Do Share. Thank you!

PHOTO CREDITS:
Halsey Pond in the Fall  via my collection
Overlord-l'Assaut in France via my collection
A bit of color in Caen via my collection
Parc De La Nation, Paris  via my collection
Autumn Brook by Olegas Kurasovas via National Geographic
Floating Leaves and Needles by Sam Abell via National Geographic
Equinox Flowers by Danuta Lacka via National Geographic
Natagiri Pass Path by Michael Yamashita via National Geographic


Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank