Posts
All Comments
I thought this appropriately spooky for Halloween, it's dark, the leaves are almost gone and it even looks cold. Well it should - it was below freezing when I took this photo. A typical late October morning.
My Christmas cactus always bloom this time of year. Preparing for this post, I looked them up and found that there are apparently a slew of plants variously called Holiday cactus, christmas cactus, Thanksgiving cactus and even Easter cactus! Various care articles indicate that to get them to bloom you need to chill them for weeks or let them have complete darkness at night - no artificial lights at all. Mine bloom madly on their own schedule, usually after I give them a good slug of water when the weather turns cool and the heat comes on. They seem ridiculously easy to care for, unlike what the experts seem to say.
Taken from the car as we were driving west on I-890. This is the GE main plant in Schenectady, the iconic building on a rainy day. That sign is illuminated with hundreds, maybe thousands of individual light bulbs, and they are changed around this time of year to a red - white - green scheme for the holidays. I'm going to try to get a photo at night if it ever stops raining...
An accidental artsy shot. Mucking about with the camera on manual, playing with the aperture (to manipulate the depth of field) when I saw the bricks side-lit by the morning sun. 
This is the same catalpa tree I photographed in July. First to lose its leaves, right on schedule. The part that looks like foliage is a maple tree behind the catalpa.
Taken at the end of my driveway. It was raining; enough that there was a current carrying leaf litter down the street. It caught my eye for some reason and here it is, a memory from my childhood schoolboy, walking to school in October.
Walking through the woods, saw this fellow(?) on a leaf on the forest floor. Had to do some research to find out that it is an example of Lophocampa caryae, the Hickory Tussock Moth. It was a cool day, so he was very cooperative. Although I've never had an issue, apparently some people get a rash after handling these fellows.
This tree is in a neighbour's yard. The colours are just coming in. The frost will kick this maple tree's shedding reflex very soon and I'll post a companion photo when it does.
The marigolds are pretty hardy, and they still look great with the falling leaves at their feet. I harvest their seed heads for next year and they never fail to please.
Had a hard frost; first of the year. Managed to get a few photos before the sun melted it. Morning temperature still below freezing, so this is the end of the delicate flowers and vegetables.
He was sitting in the window enjoying the sunlight (a very feline sort of pleasure) and I found I couldn't fool the camera well enough to take his photo. He is all white, after all, and the auto-exposure just wasn't working the way I wanted. Anyway, I thought if I could get him to turn my way I'd give the camera a bit of contrast to work with. Caught him in motion. Several times. I decided to stop pestering him and let him enjoy the sun in peace.
A single leaf on my sidewalk. I liked the colout and how it landed next to the exhausted blade of grass. Many more of its companions will soon follow!
Driving west on Interstate 890, just past the Broadway exit. St Adalbert's church off of Crane St is one of the highest spires in the city. You can see it almost anywhere, and it's such a familiar sight I just had to post it. 
The Mohawk River, looking downstream just above Lock 8. The trees haven't reached peak colour yet. The buoy are still in and the water is still high - that means the locks are still holding the river back. Before the river freezes over, the buoys will be pulled and the lock dams lifted to allow the river to flow unimpeded.
Taken at the Moccasin Kill preserve. It's not easy to find a fern this green so late in the season. It was a glorious day for a walk and I was happy to see this spot of green.
We had a couple of cold nights, then a burst of Indian Summer. The pansies in the flower box have hung on bravely - this is the last one. This time of year many people put out hardy mums, but I can't bear to rip out the last of the flowers that have given me such beauty all summer.
The Nature Conservancy has a sanctuary off of Crawford Rd in Schenectady County. Technically, I think it's in Rotterdam Junction, but it's a very nice place to go on a beautiful autumn day. The leaves haven't peaked here yet, but they're on their way.
The autumn colours are beginning to make themselves seen. The colour will go from green to various shades of red, yellow and brown in a few short weeks. By the end of the month, these trees will have lost their leaves altogether.
It's a close-up of moss.
A bit of land that belonged to my grandfather always called 'The farm' by the family. It's gone back to nature now, covered with trees, and it's near water. Whilst walking through there, I came across this evidence that beavers are active. There were a few others as well, but this was the most photogenic!
I had to work a bit with the camera settings to get this one. I never did find a setting where I could expose the Moon properly as well as the tree, but I like how this turned out. Sort of a Halloween-ish shot. Given the geometry of the street, I can't take this shot on the 31st because the Moon won't be here at a decent hour of the day.
Canada Geese flying south.
It's the time of the year when the milkweeds go to seed. Their pods burst open and the seeds float off on their little parachutes. And let me tell you, they are fertile! I'll be pulling up milkweeds by the dozens in the spring, and there'll still be plenty more to attract the Monarch butterflies.
I have no idea what these are. I need to go off and do some research! Taken at eye level at Five Rivers, I could hardly resist taking these berries' portrait in the late afternoon sun.
Taken at Five Rivers, this trillium is in great shape for the lateness of the season. These three 'leaves' aren't leaves at all, butare called bracts. I can't tell what variety of trillium this is; without the flower, which blooms in spring, I haven't a hope of figuring it out but my guess is trillium grandiflorum. 
Summer is winding down, and the bees need to get their last stores in before all the flowers are gone. This bee is basking in the sun on a milkweed pod; I don't understand her motivation here; maybe she's just visiting with the yellow-orange aphids.
At Five Rivers in Delmar, but these guys are found in almost every lake, pond and slow moving river around here. Their scientific name is Chelydra serpentina and they are as common today as they were in my youth, which is a good thing because these guys are Mother Nature's cleanup machines.
It's the first of the month again and that means it's Theme Day!
