All Hallow's Eve

Pumpkins have become a central part of Halloween. they can be so personable and have many different personalities. Sometimes all it takes is a pumpkin grower with all the right tools, seeds, and conditions.

Like this one....

It weighed 1192 pounds!!

It certainly ruled the pumpkin patch in downtown Wabasha, MN

as part of their annual Septoberfest!

But others showed the personality of pumpkins when

interacting with creative humans.

A face only a pumpkin could love!

Garfield the Cat

Or a pumpkin totem pole

Sure, they painted the pumpkins

but you have to admit

that it is clever!

Even the rake had

to get into the act.

Flowers in the Rain

Last Friday we had our first rain in a few weeks. I happened to be walking by some of the late season flowers downtown and saw the drops on the petals. Why not take some pictures? Here they are:

Nothing unusual, just the wonder and beauty of any day if we know where to look and then take the time to do so.

Falling

It is 3:21 AM Central Daylight Time.

Summer has passed; fall has arrived.

Our clocks will have different times, but it is the same moment world-wide. No waiting for the sun to get to different time zones. It has crossed the equator on its southward journey.

Well, the moment has passed. You probably slept right though it. So did I. I set this to automatically post.

So, in other words, this is all just history now.

Lent Picture A Day (30): Light

Colors- Wild and Subtle

A wonderful day last week to get out on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi at Great River Bluffs State Park. Just enjoy.

Colors- Wild and Subtle - Fungus, et. al. Edition

It was a cloudy kind of day on Sunday when I went to Whitewater Park. I did get some good overall pictures, but I focused a little more on the little things. Fungus, mushrooms, lichen, moss- that kind of thing. Again, the sharp colors or the more subtle ones combine on the fall forest floor for interesting patterns. I am always amazed at how the colors merge, blend and contrast depending on the area of focus and depth of focus.

What continues to amaze me, even more than the colors and contrasts is a technical item. The camera on my iPhone 4s produces such good pictures. The next two of the mushrooms from underneath were taken with the iPhone. It is light, compact and has a decent lens for the more wide-angle shots. I do not even use the wide to normal angle lens on my Nikon and rely on the iPhone for the general shots or when I get down on my knees and try to get pictures like the next two.

Colors- Subtle and Wild (2)

Whitewater State Park, MN

October 10, 2014

This one has both subtle and wild colors.
What a beauty of a day it was.

Colors - Subtle and Wild

Looking north toward the southern end of the
Pine Creek Gorge 

in northern Pennsylvania.

October 2003

Fall gets me thinking about colors and all the ways they show up in our world. More colors will becoming through the month. I thought I might as well start with a picture of the stomping grounds where I grew up.

A Fall Ride- Prior Planning Produces Pie Pleasure

What joy- to get out and bike the Root River Trail in the fall. Colors, golden corn, clear water, and more colors.

Enjoy.

Near the start (and end) was this wonderful bench placed in memory of a friend or family member. A good remembrance of the need for "sabbath" times in our lives.

The ride started with the majesty soaring above the trail...

And, thanks to my planning, ended with the pleasure of pie!

Not Yet Gone

Fall is in the air- and on the calendar- but summer just doesn't disappear into some season-sucking black hole. Not even in Minnesota. Last Saturday I had the chance for a lunchtime walk and found remnants of summer. Ever notice that one of the colors of late summer flowers is a variation of the royal color- purple?

It is Now Autumn- Darn!

Though It Is Still Summer

Here are some of the pictures I got last week at Whitewater State Park. It is not hard to find the leftovers of summer and the signs of the coming autumn.