Saturday, October 25, 2008

Autumn in New York

Here in our little corner of upstate NY the autumn leaves reached their peak 2 weeks into October. Driving home from church on that second Sunday of the month the beauty of the countryside was overwhelming. DH and I decided an afternoon drive, armed with the camera, would be a perfect way to spend an hour or so.

We drove first to our top meadow, where fields of corn, dried by sun and wind to a warm shade of russet, are awaiting harvest.


Trees clothed in fiery reds, burnt umbers, tawny oranges...a vast array of warm earth tones....surrounded the meadow.

Bright sunshine magnified the colors......

...and dappled the leaves, Posted by Picasa

filtering through the woods....


and enhancing the vivid greens of the hayfields.

As we drove down out of the meadow I marveled at the beauty of the fall and God's artistry.

Just a little further along the road a few farms nestled on the hillsides, surrounded by the splendor. Posted by Picasa

The dark green of pines interspersed with the deciduous trees....

.....made a brilliant contrast.


We didn't actually drive very far,

and stopped often, so the time passed quickly. Posted by Picasa


Soon we headed for home to do a bit of work outside before the sun set. That's another of our cornfields, with our farm tucked at the bottom of the hill.


Ecru, against rust, green, gold and a cloudless blue sky. What could be prettier?

Another view of the farm a little further down the hill.


It was hard to put the camera away and settle down to work on such a glorious day! Posted by Picasa

So I took a few photos from our back yard of the surrounding views.


I'll miss the soft browns of the cornfields once they're harvested.


This maple tree still has its green leaves, with just a few yellowing tips on the branches.....strange, because it was the first of our maples to begin the transition in early September.
Rain has been pouring down continuously today, and the glorious fall colors have turned to drab, but the memory of the splendor lingers on. It will help to carry us through until spring brightens our corner of the world again.
Have a lovely weekend everyone! Posted by Picasa
Edit:
Dave over at The Home Garden is hosting " The Garden Blogger Fall Color Project", which I've just noticed this past weekend as I visited a few of my garden blog friends. I've added this post to his comment section. Click the orange link and pop over to add a post of your own, or to see more fall foliage extraordinaire!

34 comments:

Debbie said...[Reply]

Gorgeous, Kerri! I think the colors this year have been the best in years. It seemed so brilliant out. We are getting rain today with quite a bit of wind, so I think most of the leaves will be gone by tomorrow, except the oaks. It has been a wonderful fall.

Meems said...[Reply]

Kerri, What a feast for the eyes for this warm Florida gardener. Your countryside is just stunning and you portrayed it so nicely with the great photos. God's artistry so brilliantly displayed for sure. I love the photo of the red barns a silos.
Thank you!
Meems @Hoe&Shovel

Lisa at Greenbow said...[Reply]

You are so privileged to live in such a beautiful place Kerri. Thanks so much for taking us with you on your drive. I hope you enjoy your weekend too.

F Cameron said...[Reply]

Kerri -- any of those glorious photos would make wonderful oil paintings! What a wonderful region.

My son was just on an archaeological project in Port Jervis and is now in Mansfield, PA until Thanksgiving. He said the fall colors are incredible. Of course, he's not taking photos like all of our wonderful garden bloggers! Thanks for sharing so that I can see the display, too. Cameron

Pat said...[Reply]

Wonderful landscape and color.
I agree they would make wonderful paintings.
I like rolled up bails of hay. You would never see that in NJ.

Pam said...[Reply]

... and you're a poet too! Great descriptions.

Lovely seeing your world. Your blog has really opened my eyes to a different part of America. I travelled around Canada and the US on Greyhound buses for a month in 1970 but never saw countryside like you show us. Beautiful.

Susie said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri,
What beautiful autumn scenes you captured for us! All this beauty within an hour of your home is just amazing. As I've said, we never get these pretty colors here. We have our own beauty, but the seasonal changes you have are just spectacular.
Thanks for sharing.
xoxo

Linda said...[Reply]

So beautiful Kerri. I had to call my husband in to take a look at these. This is the time of year we miss upstate NY. The colors look especially lovely this year.
Thank you so much for sharing this special time of year with us. I know you will soon be all snuggled down for winter. That's when we appreciate living here in Texas. Perhaps next fall we will venture back north to take in all the wonder of autumn. I'd love that.
Have a blessed week Kerri.

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...[Reply]

it's a gorgeous season.......and the shortest too :(((( Love the exuberant strokes of colors in your images, Kerri and your descriptions of those colors made me sigh!!!!!!And those red barns!!!! :)

The colors are at peak right now here in central Illinois and our hills are alive :).....but it has been very windy lately and i wonder if leaves will stay for more than a coupla days now........

em said...[Reply]

kerri, great work! i was going to go out with my camera today, but i can't come close to the views you have captured. great post!

Pear tree cottage! said...[Reply]

Kerri, how beautiful your Autumn colours are I just love the way the hills fill with these colours before the winter snows. the drive in pictures was beautiful to see.

I have been lucky enough to spend two falls in Maine and Hew Hampshire so have touched the very colours that are in your pictures and understand how breathtaking it is.

Best wishes Lee-ann

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Upstate NY is gorgeous at this time of the year! Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures!

JunieRose2005 said...[Reply]

Kerri,

What BEAUTIFUL pictures!

You live in such a special place!!

I'm so glad I came by today and didn't miss seeing you autumn!


Junie

Corner Gardener Sue said...[Reply]

I will no longer have a picture of tall buildings and car packed streets when I hear someone mention New York. What beauty you have there!

Sue

Roses and Lilacs said...[Reply]

We have really good fall color this year but you have us beat. Wonderful photos.
Marnie

Giddy said...[Reply]

We've made two trips through upstate NY on our way south and I always admire the bucolic beauty of your countryside. Unfortunately, most folks only associate NY with the city. Sadly, they don't know what they are missing. Upstate is a wonderful destination.

I loved the post about your birds. Unfortunately, the raccoon demolished my latest one, so I need to buy another one as soon as the bears go into hibernation so they won't destroy it.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Wow, what vibrant colors! I loved your pictures!!!

Sigrun said...[Reply]

Kerri, the photos are brilliant, like ever. I like the Colour of autumn very much. It is cold here, raining every day.

Sigrun

Mountain Mama said...[Reply]

Your pictures are so colorful!! We have more evergreen trees here but the deciduous trees we do have are really colorful now too.
I love seeing the rolling fields and farms in your pictures. They look so friendly!

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...[Reply]

You do not have to drive far when this colourful autumn world is surrounding your home. The blazing trees and softly coloured fields compensate for all the colour that has disappeared from the house garden.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Ah, Kerri, my favorite colors. You took such beautiful photos. I am envious of all of your fall color. Ours is not dramatic in Oklahoma. Stay warm.~~Dee

Annie in Austin said...[Reply]

It sure looks like a good leaf year, Kerri - and you took such lovely sweeping views of field and forest.
Like Dee, we don't get much leaf change here, either - it's been years since I saw sights like this in person. How cool that you and DH took advantage of your scenery!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Cris said...[Reply]

To me there is nothing prettier... than your land... and this is my favorite season. xoxox

WiseAcre said...[Reply]

I kept thinking about taking some photos but never did. The colors this year have been intense and this year has been the best in a long time.

Today there are few leaves left on the trees. Seems like any tree that still had leaves suffered in the wet snow. Many have come down. And today the snow is still here and looks like it wants to stay. So much for raking/mowing them up - just like last year I waited a bit too long.

The landscape overnight went from Autumn to Winter.

Alice said...[Reply]

Your autumn colours this year look as rich and splendid as our lush spring display - albeit yours are more varied.

It's wonderful that you still appreciate this beautiful panorama each year, without taking it for granted. Do you ever pretend that you're seeing it for the first time, or wonder how a visitor must be thrilled by it?

Thank you so much, Kerri and Ross, for taking us on such a delightful drive in the countryside. We were loath to come home - so we brought some of it with us to see every time we come to the computer (which isn't often, of course.......ha,ha,ha).

Which brings me to the question - what will become of the corn/maize now when you harvest it? It looks so dry that I'm assuming that it will be shredded/chaffed to make dry feed for animals. If not, then what, please???

Barbara said...[Reply]

Your beautiful pictures with all these typical and warm autumn colours look like classical paintings. I love the vastness of the countryside and I can understand why you feel so lucky to live there.
Have a good time, dear Kerri!
Barbara

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...[Reply]

What a wonderful autumn feast, Kerri. Love those rolling hills clad in their festive autumn dress; a wonderful sight.

Have a great weekend!

Curmudgeon said...[Reply]

This was beautiful Kerri! There is nothing like Fall in you part of the country. I miss the intense reds and oranges and the brilliant yellows. Here we tend more to the golds, bronzes, & browns. Thanks for taking us on a drive! --Curmudgeon

Christy Woolum said...[Reply]

Many have said the leaves are the prettiest this year than others. Here it was because we had such a dry fall. I look forward to taking a drive tomorrow to enjoy more trees changing.

Kylee Baumle said...[Reply]

Beautiful, Kerri! I wish we had rolling hills like that. But the colors look pretty much like they do here right now. Thanks for sharing your drive views with us!

Dave said...[Reply]

Beautiful pictures of the coutryside. I really like seeing the barns and hills of the rural areas mixed in with the colorful fall foliage!

Skeeter said...[Reply]

Now those are colors I would love to see with my eyes! But since I could not be there, thanks for sharing your beautiful reds and oranges with us....

Anonymous said...[Reply]

WOW, What beautiful pix. I use to live in N.Y. so I know how pretty the colors can get. They are fantastic---sometimes more so than others. Either way they are gorgeous & I thank you for sharing. I only have memories now except for the lovely photos of others.

Susan Tidwell said...[Reply]

Can't get enough of the autumn colors. I guess since they are so fleeting we are left wanting more. Your rolling hills look a lot like north Georgia.