Whispering Leaves

The light today was bright; the skies clear; and the temperature cold. This morning we drove into the forest via

 

Holmsley Passage,

with its splendid autumn colour burnishing both woodland trees

and bracken-carpeted moorland.

The moon, not yet having retired, nestled in the crook between two sunlit tree.

Golfers in their retirement putted balls on the Burley course. Biggification of the second above image will reveal three of the little white orbs, one of which has just been struck by the gentleman assuming the position. His shot didn’t quite have the legs.

Alongside Forest Road I left the car to photograph more flaming trees,

and wandered among trees opposite.

Fallen leaves whispered softly as I

gingerly swept the sun-streaked forest floor,

with its moss-coated roots and trunks,

broken branches,

and prehistoric skulls.

Lingering leaves traced companionable shadows;

while backlit ponies cast longer ones even in the late morning.

Pools, dry for many a month, like this one on the Burley Road, are filling up and reflecting the season.

Miniature Highland cattle made use of the landscape’s camouflage outside The Rising Sun at Bashley.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s most flavoursome mixed grill casserole; bright green broccoli, traffic light orange carrots, and creamy mashed potato with which I drank Saint-Chinian 2016 and the Culinary Queen abstained.

 

65 comments

  2. I’ll bet the animals are enjoying the cooler temperatures. We are finally having cooler weather too – I so looked forward to it! (but I’ll bet we heat up just fine for swimming on Christmas Day, bah-hum bug!) 🙂

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  3. Well done for safely negotiating the many potential hazards on the forest floor – I almost managed a spectacular face plant the other day on a tricky tree root……. The Burley Road pool shot is beautiful and would make a great jigsaw puzzle!!

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      1. I think I can recall that incident Derrick. My thoughts on getting up are usually along the line of ‘thank heavens I can get up!’ On one occasion I was the after game event at a cricket match and gathered quite a crowd to watch the getting up process 😀

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  5. Hi d…. I feel
    Like I am also “filling up and reflecting the season” ((I have such a good season of fall so far— ahhh) and love the title that brought us into your fall leaves and outdoors shots ☀️😊🍁🍂

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  17. Your beautiful photos and description make it easy to imagine being there. I could almost hear those crinkling whispers and feel the crisp cool air.

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  18. Your forest, tree, and leaves photos are spectacular, Derrick!
    Oh…and I love your description of the leaves whispering…as I look at your photos I can hear what they are saying!
    When Coop and I walk, I love hearing the leaves race down the road when the wind blows them on to other places….they make a symphonic sound. I hate stepping on them…but they are everywhere this time of year and they crunch beneath our feet.
    Your reflection photos are always a joy to me!
    And those horn-y cattle are quite handsome and impressive!
    HUGS!!! 🙂
    PS…Love your texture and color descriptions of your delicious meal! 🙂

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  19. It really is getting to full autumn here as well. It seemed to happen just in a couple of days after weeks and weeks of very little colour change in the majority of leaves.

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  20. Great pics Derrick. Sometimes I need these kinds of pics ti remind me it’s actually mid autumn and not summer…despite the weather still being quite warm and sunny down here in Tampa/St Petersburg, FL !

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