Autumn ..

Sharing with dVersepoets.com    Saturday's challenge to write about the current season:

Autumn of Life

Jigsaw puzzle, some chairs, table, lamp by the window -
Outside, nature's changes..how many shades of pink, orange in God's palette?
Saffron skies, rows of rippled clouds shaped like puffed white rice
  Ever changing canvas, deepening shades of azure blue meeting mango orange layers at the horizon, plum gold rays shoot from the sun.

Leaves fall...mini masterpieces, tiny sunsets painted on them  
float as tiny canoes in the stream..
September, when covenants of love are sealed, landscapes of the heart
  defined by woody meadows, rushing water, turning trees and 
unknown possibilities..

Recall years of walking into each new month with hope -
Fall, when the moon with the friendly face was as big as the entire sky 
A bright yellow sun illuminated cooler evenings, lanterns for paths that lead between 
home and everyplace else...
Paper thin leaves show tired veins, no more blankets of grass with tiny white daisies 
Forgotten years..forgotten laughs and tears.  
Sharpe edges of the heart smoothed over time, arms wrapped in another's..
long walks across the footbridge pushed my heart over the edge.  
Each day begins an extended portal of time, indefinitely suspended as day 
breaks and later retires.

Inside, roaring firelight, blankets, pillows piled high in a corner -
 Winds knock, windows welcome the storm, murmurs of choir voices singing Mozart,
Rain bombards the shutters, horizontal neon comets streak, leave a trail of phosphorescence. 
 Chimney smoke circles, ascends, aroma of logs burning.
Recall fair share of past paths walked, long shadows lead into night..
 white hot embers still burn..
Roasted chestnuts, contented smiles, glasses of Pinot Noir
 Good books, intimate conversations, boots, mittens and berry picking 
Kids, holidays, wool sweaters, socks  
for kite flying weather.

To be a child again, jumping into a high pile of raked leaves -
 sloshing in wide deep puddles, school.
Rosy cheeks, frosty air, playing until dark, not a care in the world..

Nostalgia sweeps over at the call of the loons.
Time envelopes us...we want carte blanche, to turn back the clock
 spin cartwheels again, go to the sock hop
But continuous change is all we know...
therefore spring is not far removed
 Unfold your heart, become one with the seasons, store more memories..
Reside in nature's bosom

..

Happy Thanksgiving...Over the River and...same tune, different words...

 by  klr

Across the harbor and through the trees

in soft pink glints of the sun,

 angels are your guide, chariots your ride
last red ochre leaves of autumn

Sweet scented smoke of apple wood fire

snow dusted boughs of blue spruce

the wink of any eye, some pumpkin pie

Fill your heart with warm gratitude 

I took these pictures from a small park in Steilacoom, WA while the small ferry was heading for Vashon Island in the late afternoon.  The apple and maple trees stand starkly bare and there are benches engraved with local people's names. Early settlers' names are on the older renovated homes and on benches for sitting. In the distance one can see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and a small strip of a beach and picnic area....plus there is an old fashioned wooden swing for two.  A nice place to watch the sun go down.

Promises of Rain...

by klr

 Seasonal plants sink into

the steamy background

Gold splinters of light bounce off

the estuary

                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                           

Drops fall from a mercury lined cloud

Fairy like mushrooms push out

 leafy banks of green

Leaves catch in a wee puddle

Dribbles of rain descending

sounding of spring times 

yet to be

Budding beauties get their bath

The haze in my head is passing,

Time to bake a cake and

have another cup of tea

http://www.lgordonphotography.com/p/creative-exchange.html

September Night Sky

 The scent of burning embers

Mountains still lush green

School days fondly remembered

Being sweet sixteen

by klr

Attempting to photograph a starry night would certainly require more camera knowledge than I possess plus a location outside the city.  But this particular morning I was struck by the shadowy forms of a birch tree and a maple as the sun was just thinking about rising...

Chocolate anenome -Which is better?

Posted on The Creative Exchange

by klr

by klr

First photo with Nikon COOLPIX S8100

Well, I don't know if I needed to go through all the rigmarole I did to get to this point of posting my first photo from my new camera or not - or if I will be able to find another method.  I hope that as I go along I will find easier ways to do things or shortcuts I don't know about yet.  This dried flower arrangement has been in my atrium for some time now and it has a fall color scheme to it so it is apropo as the first one up on my blog  (at the start of autumn) that I can truly say is an original photograph of mine. I tried to use the X-large size but it overlapped onto the side gadgets space. 

It's a start!