Monday, October 22, 2007

Pennsylvania Autumn

On the wings of an autumn breeze, fly deep into Penn's mountains:


Twisting in and out of light.
A rainbow game of hide and seek with the aging sun.




Colors blush at the mirror mountain.



And nap when their play is done.



Bear's Head Tooth Mushroom (Hericium americanum) dripping
moonlit spores and netherworld scents into the day.




Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) regarding the changing world
with jittery, skyward toes.




Twin oaks aloft with green
watch over zigzag storms of yellow and red
each time the wind thinks to blow.

24 comments:

Terri said...

The last one gives me vertigo. The colours look pretty against a blue sky (we don't see too much of that - mostly it's grey here).
Hi.

Vesper said...

Superb pictures and beautiful words to go with them. I love the bird! And the last picture - wow! - did you lie on your back, on fallen leaves, to take it?

Aine said...

I love the playfulness theme with the first three photos. But my favorite line is "dripping moonlit spores and netherworld scents into the day." What a perfect autumn weekend!

Vesper, Jason has great neck extension when he sees interesting angles with his camera. The only time he laid on the leaves this weekend was to stargaze. Without the camera... ;)

Jude said...

It all looks so beautiful Jason. You've captured the essence of nature wonderfully well.

Bev said...

ah Jason, thank you for taking us on this lovely fall walk in the forest -- here in the Rockies fall is basically yellow, I really love the reds and oranges in your pictures! Nice word pictures too

Unknown said...

And an accomplished photographer to boot! I love that fungus: it looks like a fairy nest.

The Anti-Wife said...

I miss the beautiful Fall colors. We have some here in the PNW, but because we have so many evergreens we don't get the plethora of color from all the deciduous trees you have. Beautiful pictures!

SzélsőFa said...

wonderful shots!
I loved the last one the most - my kids liked the one with the bird.

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Hey now that was awesome! And that last picture is my absolute favorite - really great shot. What perspective, we are all just a small part of the world around us. This was perfect way to start the week, thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

Terri, grey days get pretty old after a while. Glad I could share this bright one.

Vesper, at least once a season, I like to do a forest tour. Glad you liked this one. :) As for taking the pictures, I see Aine has handled that answer!

Aine, stargazing under a wool blanket. Perfect. :)

Jude, it was a stunning weekend. We caught it at the right time.

Bev, lots of maples here, espectially red maples. The only downside is that they are earlier than the beeches which predominate. If they all turned at once, it would be unbelievable.

Electric Orchid Hunter, it's a tasty mushroom too! Bear's Head Tooth mushroom soup is on the menu. Thanks for the compliment!

Anti-Wife, I'm sure the green against the stark white snow puts on its own spectacular show. :)

Szelsofa, I got an even better one. Especially stunning. It will make an appearance soon. Glad your kids liked the grouse! They're like ghosts. It was amazing luck to get this picture.

Ello, I like looking back at the series now, a day later. It does capture some of the amazing light. I'm happy you enjoyed it. =)

Chris Eldin said...

These are beautiful photos. I really enjoyed the first 3. The blushing colors/mirror was really nice!

I have a question (which I may answer by simply looking it up myself)--but in a middle-grade book called "Hatchet" a boy has to survive in the wilderness on his own. There's a 'fool bird' that's easy to catch. I think it's a grouse. It's supposed to be (for lack of a better word!) very stupid.

Anyway, it was a fantastic book.

Autumn is my favorite time of year.

eric1313 said...

Blog hopping--actually, found this link at Trevor Record's blog.

That story Sleep is about as good a flash fiction piec as I've ever read by somebody not famous.

Your photography is also excellent; the autumn season is incredibly beautiful. Great shots, sir.

Peace out.

Bernita said...

And partridge can give you a heart attack when they explode from under your feet.
That's a rare shot, Jason.

Jaye Wells said...

Do you rent that cabin of yours out to other writers? Assuming these were took near the cabin, it seems the perfect spot for a week or two of creative solitude.

Anonymous said...

Church Lady, yes, this is the same bird, but I think evolution (through hunting) has changed that. I remember reading about colonists being able to practically bend down and grab a grouse. Hard to believe now. They are very hard to see and fly quickly when disturbed.

Bernita, very true! The quick thunder of their wings really gets the heart going. This bird is just taunting me. I was hunting this weekend for grouse. This joker pulled this pose when we were driving out.

Jaye, it's a bit rugged, being up on the mountain and all. I do more chopping than writing. But yes, these pictures (except for the first) were taken on our land.

Anonymous said...

Eric1313, I agree! Trevor's contest entry was outstanding.

Thanks for the visit and the compliment! Stop over anytime. I'll be over to say hello.

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Beautiful pictures as always, Jason. Are these the last shades of autumn?
warm regards

S. Kearney said...

What a great time of year for photos ... the colours are astounding! :-)

Anonymous said...

Suzan, autumn has been delayed over here, so these colors are what I would call early peak. Many trees have yet to change!

Shameless, yes, an amazing time for photography! I have a tougher time in winter. Because we've been having less snow, everything tends to stay ugly brown.

Anonymous said...

I commented on this yesterday but see it didn't stick. All the photos are gorgeous, and the last one makes me dizzy, too.

Jaye Wells said...

"Assuming these were took near the cabin,"

Holy Lord. Next time I have the flu, just delete all my comments. Obviously, the fever messed with the part of my brain in charge of grammar.

Anonymous said...

Ybonesy, thanks for giving the comment another go! Sometimes blogger is ornery like that.

Jaye, I thought you were just channeling the mountain spirit. :)

AngelConradie said...

wow- unreal!!!

Angela said...

Wow. These are incredible.