autumn – Page 8 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Pin Oak Leaves

The Pin Oak is a tree indigenous to the parts of the US east of California – which means everywhere is east! These are trees familiar to my childhood in the midwest and along the eastern seaboard, and I missed them forever once we moved to California. There are oak trees in California, but they are adapted to a different climate, with much smaller leaves which don’t turn orange before falling. Also, they are green year round, which is a blessing of color in a beige winter landscape. And, they are as wonderful as the Pin Oak. Yay, trees!

Ablaze

A scene from the local botanical garden . . . piles of Pin Oak leaves against blooming Mexican sage. If you look in the upper left, you will see some pink blooms still clinging to a tree branch.

Autumn Morning

The other morning – the first of the time change – I headed out with my Nikon V3 (which took this picture), my 6×9 Voigtlander Bessa, and Olympus XA4. I used the Nikon to consider exposure, as well as to catch a few for here. The film will go in to the lab for processing later this week.

It was an incredible morning. The Chumash Trail is a trail along a corridor of native oak trees, which overarch the entire trail, spots and splotches of sunshine breaking through. The trees are hundreds of years old. In some trees, small flocks of black and white birds would land, and all of a sudden it was as if it were raining acorns. It was quite odd, but restful, like rain pattering on leaves.

Dance

Deep in a canyon, along a creek, backlit by late afternoon sun . . .

End of Summer

I went hiking with a friend along a creek in Santa Barbara County . . . pushed up against a log, these fallen leaves let me know that autumn was here and summer was winding down.