“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”
― Nathaniel Hawthorne

Even at this time of year, days away from the first official day of winter, I’m enjoying the sunshine of autumn. Especially this time of year when it is so bright and crisp, yet seemingly scarce, making it all the more precious.

As I spent a few hours out on the trails last weekend, the slight overcast sky opened up, albeit briefly, to let some of this precious light fall on the world around me. It has a particularly magical effect on the golden beech leaves which still cling with incredible tenacity to the branches that bore them through the summer. This wonderful gold on white effect is absolutely beautiful when the sun strikes it.

It was especially noticeable on this hillside of plantation red pines interspersed with young maples. In the mix of trees, a few young beech trees are starting to establish themselves, standing slightly apart from their companion trees. And, since they still bear leaves, they really stand out in the bare woods.

We just had a substantial snowfall this past week, so I am hoping to spend at least a bit of time hiking and photographing this forest, transformed once more, into something altogether different from a mere few weeks ago.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD@78mm
1/4 sec, f/22.0, ISO 400

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