October Color

This post will focus on fall color. During the first week of October Karen and I went on a short trip along the Mississippi River in Illinois and Wisconsin. After we got back home again in Indiana we had several nice weekends where we were able to get in some good bike rides. The fall leaf color was pretty much at peak in the middle of October so we were able to shoot several interesting fall color pictures while on our rides. I have not necessary included all of the most brilliant colors, but rather have included as much variety as possible to show the range of color. Some of the color comes from trees and a bit of the more dramatic color is from sunsets.

Sometimes life makes me feel like this old Osage Orange, scared up from the several crash impacts I've sustained, bound up with bits of wire fence that I've tried to hold up and a bit gnarly as a result.

Still Osage Orange (above and below) is kind of tough and a little wild and I like that. Karen and I ride by this old tree a couple times a month on our regular bike rides. This tree sits at the end of a road and has stopped its share of cars that didn't

Some evenings give a real warm glow to the sky.

This set of barns just a few week earlier had a lush green foreground of beans. Now the sky is the most prominent color in this subtle landscape.

Some of the boats have been hauled out. The ones that remain will be gone in just a few more days after this photo. Ducks are flocking together across the pale sky.

I thought these shots of cycling shadows were interesting.

Sugar maple trees can color from this reddish color to a bright yellow that you will see later.

The crops have been removed from the fields and the county road seems a bit barren.

In the distance across the empty bean stubble field the variety of color is beginning to show.

Here is another sugar maple in golden yellow.

The marsh a couple miles east of our place begins to take on a subtle mix of browns and sage green.

Shag bark hickory practically aways turns golden yellow in the fall.

Here's another sugar maple in more of an orange color

Ash can vary from this purple to yellow.

Because it is well watered this section of the upper Tippecanoe river is still pretty green. We went by this same place the last weekend of October and there were no leaves left. the change happened quickly.

The other interesting thing about fall color is that some trees peak at a much different time than others.

Sassafras trees have perhaps the widest variety of color even on the same tree. Here there is green to yellow to orange to red, all on the same branch.

We stopped at Pisgah Marsh and noticed that the color was much more subtle than out on the upland terrace areas.

Here's a close up of hickory leaves.

I think this is black gum. I could not get close enough to identify it.

This open field has some lavender color that is somewhat unusual this time of year.

I think this was a Gum as well.

Here you can see quite a difference in the color of these Sugar Maples as they transition into their fall color.

Here the sugar maples are more of a yellow to golden color.

Oaks tend to be more in the rust color ranges.

Of course there are some hardy flowers that provide some brilliant color in the fall.

As I mentioned earlier some of the most spectacular color comes in the form of sunsets.

October was a good month. There were some interesting sights to see, some challenges to overcome, and some great weather.