As our globe gradually tilts farther from the sun, the days in the Northern hemisphere are growing noticeably shorter. The light appears more luminous, sunrise and sunset more vibrant, the nighttime air more crisp.
Leaves and grasses slip out of their summer attire. In what must be one of nature’s most congenial chemical cascades, chlorophyll, having diligently performed photosynthesis all summer long, goes on sabbatical, and the hitherto concealed yellow, orange, and red hues take a brief but boisterous bow on the autumnal stage, to everybody’s enthusiastic applause. Even the plumage of certain birds seems to emulate the flamboyant fall foliage.
Ripe fruit weighs down branches and fills hungry tummies. While many migrants take their leave in search of warmer climes with more abundant food, we resident creatures stay in place, and resign ourselves to nature’s rhythms. Next to spring, autumn is my second favorite season, and similar to spring, it has a tendency to hurry and hasten, when I want it to linger. But for now, instead of lamenting its all-too-soon departure, I welcome its arrival and the many wonders in its wake.
Jetzt, wo sich unser Erdball weiter von der Sonne weg neigt, werden die Tage auf der nördlichen Hemisphäre spürbar kürzer. Das Licht scheint leuchtender, Sonnenauf- und –untergang strahlender und die Nachtluft frischer.
Blätter und Gräser entledigen sich ihrer Sommerkleidung. In einer der sympathischsten chemischen Reaktionen der Natur nimmt sich Chlorophyll nach monatelanger Photosynthese eine Auszeit, und die bisher im Hintergrund versteckten Gelb-, Orange- und Rottöne haben einen kurzen aber ausgelassenen Auftritt auf der Herbstbühne, zu allgemeinem begeisterten Beifall. Selbst das Federkleid einiger Vögel scheint die farbenprächtigen Herbstfarben nachzuahmen.
Reife Früchte hängen an Zweigen und füllen hungrige Mägen. Während sich viele Durchzügler verabschieden, und sich in wärmere Gegenden mit reichhaltigerer Nahrung aufmachen, bleiben wir standortgebundenen Kreaturen an Ort und Stelle und finden uns mit den Zyklen von Mutter Natur ab. Nach dem Frühling ist der Herbst meine zweitliebste Jahreszeit, und ähnlich wie der Frühling hat er die Tendenz, davonzueilen, wenn ich mir auch wünsche, daß er verweilen möge. Aber anstatt seine baldigen Abreise zu bedauern, heiße ich ihn und die vielen Wunder in seinem Schlepptau herzlich willkommen.
To enlarge a photo, click on it. To read its caption, hover cursor over it.
Zum Vergrößern, das Bild bitte anklicken. Um den Titel zu lesen, mit der Maus darüber schweben.
Lovely examples of your autumn colours. The Red Crossbill plumage suits autumn. I don’t recall seeing a photo of that bird before.. new to me!
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Thank you, Liz. I am glad I could introduce you to a new bird. I agree with you–its colors struck me as the perfect reflection of autumn.
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Sehr schön geschrieben. Wie schnell doch wieder die Monate davon geflogen sind. Mit dem Blick nach vorne sehen wir schon das Jahresende auf uns zukommen. Ein ewiger Kreislauf.
LG Jürgen
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Vielen Dank, lieber Jürgen. Ja, die Zeit vergeht wie immer sehr schnell. Auch wenn der Abschied manchmal etwas schwer fällt, ist es doch gut, daß die Natur diesen ewigen Kreislauf durchläuft. Wenn immer nur die Sonne schiene, wäre das auf Dauer etwas eintönig.
Ich wünsche Dir weiterhin einen schönen Herbst.
Herzliche Grüße aus Colorado,
Tanja
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Liebe Tanja, immer Positiv denken. Das ist auch meine Devise. Ich freue mich immer auf den nächsten Tag. Egal was kommt.
LG Jürgen
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Thank you Tanja, for sharing with us some eloquent prose and stunning images. Autumn is my favourite season, a poignant metaphor for the calm beauty of our twilight years. All things must pass.
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Thank you, Platypus Man. A beautiful if not entirely accurate metaphor, as our own twilight years, sadly, will not renew themselves (unless reincarnation does not represent merely wishful thinking). Another reason to make those twilight years shine and shimmer (e.g. with a trip to N.Z. 😊).
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Just beautiful 😊
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Thank you, Dwight. We live in an amazing state! 🍁
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Hello Tanja,
What glorious views of autumn! Autumn is my favourite season, so it is real treat to see photos like these 🙂
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That makes me happy, Takami. I hope your autumn is filled with many beautiful colors and moments, too. 🍁
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Wunderschön! Herbst ist schon toll! Der rote Himmel ist ein Knaller!
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Herzlichen Dank. Den Moment zu erleben war etwas ganz Besonderes.
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Gorgeous captures to celebrate and welcome Autumn, Tanja! You also write so beautifully, you draw me in where I relish your words of description, I love it! 💓
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I appreciate your comment so much, Donna. It makes my little writer’s heart beat faster. 🙂
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Happy autumn to you, Tanja. You’ll be surprised to hear that the earth is actually closer to the sun at the end of December than at the end of June. Here’s an article explaining the situation: https://earthsky.org/?p=24846.
I like your alliterative phrase “chemical cascade.” The caption to one of your pictures taught me that German gives overt rather than implied equal time to bright and dark by rendering equinox as day-and-night-alike.
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I like your English translation of Tagundnachtgleiche, Steve. I think we should submit it to the highest instance that decrees whether or not a new word should become part of the language (I forgot the name of the illustrious organization 🙂 ). But in case they object, I think you should introduce and spread it.
As far as space, Tanja’s cosmology likes to be different.
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France has the Académie Française but as far as I know there’s no such official body for English.
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I know. Just another reminder of why I should not attempt to become a stand-up comedienne. 🙂
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Oops, I did not mean to send that comment yet. The latter was an attempt at a joke, Steve. I will, of course, try to remedy my ignorance and take out the inaccurate information. Thank you!
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You’re welcome. I get the joke.
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Speaking of patterns: To my eyes, the scrub oak and the sunrise photos have a lot in common.
Real good essay, Tanja. You nailed autumn.
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That’s a great observation, Neil. I think nature is full of these little wonderful details that are so enriching to our eyes and souls.
Thank you for your kind comment.
Happy autumn! 🍁
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Der Herbst, mit seinen wunderbaren Farben und seinem faszinierendem Licht, ist schon eine einmalig schöne Saison! Auch wenn ich weiss, was nach ihm kommt, liebe ich ihn sehr!
Viele Grüsse
Christa
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Den schönen Herbst hast Du ja auch gerade bei Deinem Ausflug in den Zoo Sauvage erleben können, liebe Christa. Der Winter hat seine wunderschönen Seiten, und er ermöglicht uns, endlich die Projekte anzugehen, für die wir im restlichen Jahr keine Zeit hatten! 😊
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We had not been to the Rockies in the fall until 2018. We always associated fall colors with the NE, but the Rockies are spectacular as your photos show.
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Thank you for saying so! We might not have as many deciduous trees with luscious foliage as the NE, but we love what’s here. Stay tuned for more photos of our favorite aspen trees! 🙂
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What a beautiful description of Fall! And lovely images to go with that description. And you are so right about the fleeting nature of Spring and Fall. “Stay longer!” I always beg, but with a laugh they hurry on.
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Thank you, Laurie. In the end it’s good that we don’t have a say about seasons, there would be an endless tug of war about everybody’s preference. 🙂
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Too true! 😉
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What a wonderful post Tanja. The trees in Scotland are just starting to get into their autumn finery and I’ve been taking lots of walks in our woods to inspire my writing.
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Good for you, Mary, there is such inspiration in nature. Happy Scottish autumn to you! 🍁
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Wie wunderschön, liebe Tanja 🍁🍂😊
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Dankeschön, liebe Brigitte. Ich hoffe auch Ihr könnt Euren Herbst in Bremen genießen.
Noch ein angenehmes Wochenende aus Colorado.
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Leider nicht so wie ich es möchte, Tanya. Aber das wird hoffentlich noch. Herzliche Grüße 🙋♀️
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Ich wünsche es Dir, liebe Brigitte, und winke herzlich zurück über den Atlantik.
Einen angenehmen Sonntag noch,
Tanja
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So so beautiful.. ❤💕😇👌🏼
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Thank you so much, Debbie. Best wishes for you!
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Thank you.. And same to you too.. 😇😇
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Thank you kindly. 🌸
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Ein toller Bericht mit sehr schönen Bildern 😍😍💖💖
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Das freut mich sehr. Einen schönen Herbst wünsche ich, liebe Balle. 🍁
Herzlichst,
Tanja
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Gerne und einen sprichwörtlichen Goldenen Herbst wünsche ich Dir auch.
Alles Liebe
Balle
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❤-lichen Dank!
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Absolutely beautiful photos!
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Thank you very much, Valerie. Happy autumn to you! 🍁
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Same to you! ❤
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Thank you! 🍁
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Such pretty pictures 🙂 Autumn is definitely here!
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Thank you, M.B. I hope you are enjoying your autumn! 🍁
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Wonderful pictures!!
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Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed them. I hope you are enjoying your fall! 🍁
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Beautiful post, Tanja!
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I am so glad you enjoyed it, V.J. Thank you! 🍁
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Most welcome!
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Ganz, ganz wunderbare Herbstimpressionen, liebe Tanja! Die Stimmung in den Bildern ist so schön…
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Dankeschön, liebe Anna. Der Herbst ist ein wunderschöne Jahhreszeit, mit vielen frohen Farben. 🍁
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magic Autumn….
bye Tanja 🙂
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Thank you! Happy autumn to you, too! 🍁
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Most of us — with good reason — focus on the colors of autumn, but the textures in your first photo are just as delightful. Before the grasses fade and the trees are stripped of their leaves, they complement one another beautiful, and seem even in photos to want to be touched.
Pike’s Peak always makes me smile: not only because of childhood memories of a visit, but also because of Pike himself. When I spent time in Kansas a few years ago, I came across several of the places where he and his party camped during their expedition to the Southwest — it was great fun to learn about Pike-the-person, and associate the name with more than a mountain.
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Thank you, Linda. It was indeed the textures (apart from the light) that captivated me in that first photograph.
I am glad you harbor pleasant memories about your visit in the Pikes Peak region (BTW, at some point many moons ago, they dropped the ” ‘s” from Pike’s).
Pike has experienced somewhat of a resurgence in recent years, and efforts are underway to commemorate his 1806/07 expedition with a series of monuments and markers, by establishing the Pike National Historic Trail, along his 3,664 mile journey. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to retrace his steps?
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Tanja, that’s such a beautiful write up to welcome autumn and as usual you have clicked awesome images ❤️😊
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I am glad you enjoyed my ode to autumn in word and picture, Dee. Thank you for stopping by.
Best wishes,
Tanja
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Great images! I especially like the spider web.
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Thank you. I took that particular photo on a beautiful early morning, with the sun just starting to illuminate a number of spiderwebs, which were glittering among the grasses and wildflowers.
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Beautiful images & very well said. We don’t see those colors in Florida. We did pick up the Red Crossbill in Wyoming when we were there. Life bird for both of us. Searched for the Evening Grosbeak but never got it.
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I appreciate your comment, Lisa. It took me years to see a Red Crossbill, but a wet spring this year yielded in a great cone harvest, and they have been everywhere, much to my delight. And three Evening Grosbeaks showed up at our feeder a month or so ago, so that was a special treat, as I don’t see them as often as I would like.
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You’re welcome! I’m so happy for both us for getting the Red Crossbill this year. 🙂 I didn’t get as good of quality, but at the time, I didn’t know what I was looking at either.
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Wonderful writing! I especially love the way your describe the changing colour of the leaves! So many great photos too! The sunrise is magnificent! 😊
You got me thinking about why spring and autumn seem to be the seasons that move forward the most. So many big visual changes in those seasons. One week looks so different from the previous week. In summer and winter, things change too, but it is less apparent. And the more extreme the summer or winter temperatures are in a place, the less happens.
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Thank you so much, Myriam.
I think your observation is about the seasons is spot-on. Many people love the summer and winter months, but the other two will forever remain my favorites, with vernal reawakening the most welcome after cold and dark months!
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What beautiful pictures Tanja! Such a great description of fall!
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I am glad you enjoyed my pictures and words, Diane. Thank you! I hope your fall is lovely. 🍁
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Lovely photos. Thank you for sharing. 🍁
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I am glad you enjoyed them, JoAnn, thank you!
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Great post and amazing photos
🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁
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I am glad you liked it, Luisa, thank you! I hope you are enjoying your autumn!
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❤🍂🍁❤🍂🍁❤
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In words and pictures, you’ve shown us the essence of autumn. Inspired writing, Tanja.
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Thank you from this writer’s heart to yours! 😊
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