Autumn in River Country
Autumn is starting (a bit late - yet all the more beautifully) here in Saint Louis. Holly's recently planted maple tree in the back yard is now a screaming red (the tree, the TREE!), and hiking in Pere Marquette State Park (along trails partially built by the CCC) was a joy today.
Here are my two images from Pere Marquette - obtained with Riley.
Panorama, from McAdams Peak. This peak was a burial site for Native Americans. Now, it includes native grassland, and views of the Illinois River just before it joins the Mississippi. Note the huge barge in distance at one end, and the intrepid fellow climber on the other.
Click here to view panorama larger
Leaves. Perhaps you had to be there, but this branch seemed to capture the threshold between summer and fall as well as any we observed today.
A link to an official photo of the bluffs in this area is here:
http://www.dot.state.il.us/gif/Meeting%20of%20the%20Great%20Rivers.jpg
I still vividly remember when Holly first drove me down past these cliffs when we were dating. On a west-to-east approach into StL's Lambert Airport you can often see the cliffs from the air.
Happy autumn, wherever it finds you.
recent branches
There is a famous cartoon used every Autumn when I was by the Chicago Tribune (always appeared on it's front page) when I was a kid depicting Indian summer. It really represented the magic using a camp fire and it's flames to bring the memories of the original American and their life struggle to life. Autumn has always been my favorite season and we really have none of it here! Think it is not only the beautiful colors but the air and how it touches the senses. Know you don't read fiction...Hancho Ho Historical fiction. Thanks for sharing the beauty. Sometimes, I think it is in the moments when we touch nature that our thoughts (souls or spirits ) get a chance to rebuild.
Mom- I think I remember this Tribune cartoon, too!
Was this it?
Link-
http://lighthousepatriotjournal.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/injun-summer_1912_john-mcclutcheon.jpg
I agree, it almost smells or tastes differently in the fall. Last night I made an apple cider / maple / dark molasses glazed chicken from Cooks Illustrated for Holly and Claire's return from Chicago that seemed to tap into some of that, as did Riley and my drive this weekend through the milo fields in the river bottoms seen in the distance from the pic above.
Holly's book club might tap into Hancho Ho in the future (and I sneak some reads in some of their choices). Sounds nice. The father of the family I stayed with in Geneva told me he thought that fiction is often able to tell the truth better than non-fiction.
Looks gorgeous! When we were back in Milwaukee it became much more obvious the amount we miss seeing the seasons shift. The trees all seem to go from full and green to empty sticks over night in NYC.
stunning .. autumn in Boston is pretty sweet as well. The crisp air on long runs over freshly fallen leaves really makes me feel alive.
bad thing about autumn .. flu season! (Im sick as a type this)
B-
get well soon, Brian.
From: Riley