Monday, September 25, 2006

Cold Morning Mists

Walk with me when sky hangs damp and grey. I'll take you where wood falls open and our sister mountain stretches, concealing the Delaware at our feet.


(Standing in Pennsylvania with New York in the distance)


The afternoons grow dark, and the dew sinks deep. Springing from their hidden world, the mushrooms bloom to match the fallen leaves.


(Honey Mushroom)


The day is warm, but the whispers of cold are close. Savor the dwindling rays before the long, silent sleep.


(Red Eft)

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Jason, that is simply stunning!
Magnificent photos, beautiful words - all so incredibly evocative of the changing season.

Melly said...

Oh, wow! Beautiful! Just beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing these Jason - they are beautiful every one... especially that Red eft. I haven't seen one of those yet, and I miss the salamanders from Western Washington. :)

Anonymous said...

Pretty autumn colors. Yes, especially your little red friend.

My son is learning about the seasons in school. He refuses to believe it's fall because the leaves are still green on the trees. He's waiting for the oranges and reds that don't really exist here in Houston. That reminds me of waiting for snowfall and snowball fights around Christmas in 70 degree weather when I was little. You think they'd modify the curriculum to reflect the region, eh? But I digress...Thanks for sharing the pics!

Melissa Amateis said...

Sigh...autumn. How I LOVE autumn.

Sam said...

Beautiful pics! Nice captions, too :-)

Linda said...

Thank You Jason for the fall photos and the beutiful words to go with them. I miss all the beautiful fall colors of up north.
The picture of the Red Eft is awesome I have never seen one.

Sandra Ruttan said...

Love those photos!

I love fall.

anne frasier said...

beautiful, jason!!

thank you. :)

Unknown said...

Absolute gorgeous pictures!

Anonymous said...

Atyllah, thank you. :) I wanted to share a little of my weekend with you.

Melly, thanks, my friend.

JLB, Red Efts are my daughters' absolute favorites. They walk around after it rains. They are the terrestrial, immature form of the Red Spotted Newt.

Fringes, I agree! Let's not confuse the kids. I'm sure you have your own form of changes down where you are.

Normiekins, I hope I was able to give you a brief escape, even if only in a memory.

Anonymous said...

Melissa, I second that!

Sam, thanks for the kind words.

Beady, I'll share more with you, don't worry. :) Those red efts are fun. Can't eat them, though. Some kind of poison is in their skin. I think that's why they are so brazen.

Sandra, have any hikes planned?

Anne, my pleasure. :) Thanks for taking the walk with me.

Shadowrite, much appreciated! I'm having a blast with my new camera.

Bernita said...

A truly charming composite, Jason.

Jaye Wells said...

I don't know what I am more jealous of that Red Eft over: the fact he gets to hang out in all the beautiful fall foliage or the fact he gets to sleep for three months straight.

Terri said...

Thank you Jason, this was just what I needed today.
Beautiful photos and descriptions as always.
The leaves are only beginning to turn here in Ireland and I can hardly wait to go out there with my own camera to capture the colours soon.
Autumn is the prettiest season, isn't it?!

Wilf said...

Lovely lyrical moments, Jason. The Red Eft is amazing.
Addy

Jeff said...

Very nice, Jason!

Anonymous said...

You must have posted about your new camera somewhere and I missed it. I'll go poke around! Inquiring broke buyers' minds want to know!

And I love the little lizardy thing. I never saw lizards except at zoos when I was growing up, and then when I was 30 or so I spent a few days in Florida by the pool, and there were little lizards all over, just like normal every day pests. I fell in love.

I might never live down there, but I will always think of it. I want a little house where I get annoyed at the little lizards that come in through the hole in the kitchen window screen.

Anonymous said...

Bernita, thank you. :)

Jaye, my vote is for the three month sleep. I wouldn't mind slipping into warm darkness for a while.

Terri, I can't wait to see your pictures! I was going to put off buying a new camera, but I didn't want to squander my chance to use it this fall.

Addy, thanks. :) The Red Eft wasn't entirely cooperative, but we finally completed the photo shoot and he went on his way.

Jeff, thanks. :)

Bekbek, with prices coming down, I finally made the jump to a digital SLR. I chose the Nikon D50 and am very happy with it so far. Using old 35mm lenses is problem, though. So far I've struck out in that department. ** As for our friend the Red Spotted Newt/Red Eft, they are amphibians. The weird thing, though, is that the terrestrial Red Eft doesn't breathe through its skin like salamanders. It has lungs. Once they return to the river, though, I think they change. So far, we've only seen one adult in the river.

Fran Piper said...

Just beautiful... And absolutely the right decision about the camera. Experiences are more important than money (although you have to watch out for the crossover point :-).

When I was growing up in England, you could still fish for newts in ponds. Now they're an endangered species (sadly, all that fishing probably had something to do with it) but I still remember how neat it was. Frogspawn too.

Marie said...

Beautiful pictures and lovely words.

Autumn's my favourite season - it's just so inspirational for writers.

Anonymous said...

Fran, yeah, the crossover point.... I don't think I breach it, but boy I come close! ** Thanks for the newt memory. Hopefully they still flourish in some hidden places.

Marie, autumn inspires more formal writing in me for some reason, and spring freer and more open.