Changing clocks and seasons

I realised that we have lovely fall colours to share and that before my world here becomes just black and white,  now is the time to reflect on Autumn and all that it brings here. I am as always amazed as the months tick by and in my head I am at least 3 months behind! These pictures are from September and October and as I look back on a gloomy day like today, these bright shades really are amazing.

Sumac! always amazing and just growing wild in a lot of places and so rich with colour

Sea of green and the red is beginning

Grasses this time of the year are wonderful

That sky! Trees just starting to tinge yellow

Really glorious

Acorns, wow. The sky was a blue one with dancing blobs of white cloud. Managed to get the shot before the acorn bobbled about in the wind

and of course we have to have some seasonal nods at home. I treasure my glass pumpkins, they always look so cheery

This was the sun rise one morning. Just beautiful and all the shades from golden orange to blue grey!

I love to see the transformation of the leaves on the same plant. This is no exception, aptly named the flame bush

Everywhere this is the scene

This is the roof of the car early one Saturday morning. Warnings of what is to come, in a few weeks time

The contrast is what Autumn can be all about. The black branches and the chartreuse leaves

berries a plenty

This photo is a bit weird. If you look at it the branches are a over laid and it looks like a trick but I haven't altered this photo at all

golden sunlight and golden leaves

It's just transfixing, the colours on one tree, it really is like a fan of colour

I think this is wonderful, it could be a Dr Seuss tree or our version of a Palm tree on the bluest of skies back round

Very stark contrast here. I really love the effect of the sun shining through the leaves and illuminating them

More glorious colours

Just think all those leaves will fall off! That is a lot of leaves

It looks like a tinted photo but it the actual tree changing colour and not spots of sunlight

It is just the abundances

Again the same tree and part has changed 

This house almost looks like it has an X on it, in ivy that is changing too

Just streets 

and streets of colour

I think this is a favorite and often I will see a tree and have to stop and take it's photo, this is one of those times

Another early morning frost

The sun was just shining on this patch of leaves. Really beautiful

I really love the shape of the yellow tree and that is my car parked by it. I had to stop and take the shot. This tree was in full show

Cascading light and just the tiniest patch of blue that you can see. It was a very bright day and the leaves just glowed

This tree is just perfect, the top having already turned 

Raking and raking.....all these lovely gifts of nature

We truly are spoilt

I was on my way to the market  and saw the mist coming off the lake and noticed this hard frost

The pink clouds are echoed in the water and the mist on the water is just rising. I have found this effect before and it is impossible to capture

To me this just doesn't look real. Blocks of colour

Forests are amazing at this time too

another early morning

and this time I get the mist too!!! Wowee so ethereal 

Reflections are always so interesting in the early evenings

As twilight was settling in, the trees that have just turned yellow were quite bright over the bridge

This is bright and dark all at the same time

This is the gallery wall where I volunteer, a source of many photos. This is no exception, the layers of vegetation

How about this for a quote! Seems to be speaking right to me :)

Oh ginkgo, you are the best

yellow and grey as the leaves fall on the side walk

The mist over the golf course....and now all these leaves have almost gone and we have already had some snow...but that is for next time.

Before Autumn

Just one more last look at the summer and our travels this year. The trip to the UK and Isle of Man was really quite a variety of weather and so the days had quite different feels to them. Being in North America the weather is more settled and so coming home it is always a suprise to be somewhere where the weather changes minutue by minute. That said it didn't spoil the time, as we made the most of being out and about.

The Island as we come in, just looks so lovely

This is just the most amazing picture. Look at the line of cloud! Well come home!!!

This was the next day and a trip to the west coast

Nothing like the day before and look at that boiling white cloud....the sea is quite high too

This shows the amount of rainfall that has come off the hillside and it's amber in colour as it rushes over the peaty soil

Me and the boys thought a trip on the train would be nice. So we went on the hour long trip from Douglas to Port Erin. I was super excited. I love the train

Look at this happy personage!

The corn fields flash by and the steam from the engine curls out 

Here we are waiting for the trains to cross at a station

So sweet

and then we are off again

To our destination

Louie found at the museum at the last stop a simulator ride and so he obviously had a go and got a certificate and everything!

We had a walk around the town and found these wallabies. (They are a scheme by the Hospice organization on the Island to raise money) I tell you, they were all over the Island

Painted amazingly

I saw these cute doors and matching gates to their gardens

how lovely to have a garden by the sea

But it was a windy day!

We're on our way home now

Can't even imagine it's that funny. But what a great picture of Isaac

Spied this on our journey

The scenery you pass by on the train is just lovely and as you mostly don't go along the main road you get to see so much more

One evening I took a stroll and saw the boat coming in from Heysham. Quite the scene and they maneuver that boat amazingly

Down by the quay it is rather interesting and these boat ties were rather glorious and just painted!

How about that for a place to sleep. 

I love chimney pots

They are all so different and they seemed all to have residents

Oh this picture I took in my sister's summer house /shed. The gloves seemed to be saying something. "Give a small bit?" 

How lovely is this and the colour of the Summer house and the fence. ! Of course how can you not love lavender! 

But there were murky days

This is during the day!

and the wallabies

Very pretty

More pots

But when the sun comes out, everything sparkles

boys examining rock pools

Yup, all good

In a near by disused quarry someone has put in water lilies

it is rather lovely. You can also see the tilting of the rock formations and this area is near where I went to school and studied Geology. So I am very familiar with the formation of the limestone pavement, anticlines and synclines and not forgetting the basalt dyke and old volcano. Amazing to have all of that in a small area. 

Mr Heron out for lunch

The boys on a limestone anticline

This is part of the limestone pavement

The rock pools are teaming with life

and of course lots of limpets

The colours of the seaweed are so vivid

Yup that's what they are looking at

The sky that day was perfect

time for a sit down

well for some. Others are doing I think yoga!

Or maybe just mucking about!They are standing on quite the rock formation. Limestone pavement and in the background you can see the layers of rock

It really is an amazing place

Farmers were rushing to get the hay cut

This is a view as we drive along the coast, sparkling seas

More Wallabies

So creatively painted

Lots of art in this town

Not so sure about this one

This town, Castletown has lovely houses built out of the limestone found near by and quite grand door knocks to go on those houses

I like this picture because of the reflection of the street opposite!

These are some of the houses

My favorite and it shows both local limestone and the window sills and pillars are sandstone from another town on the west coast

Just lovely

Theses streets I walked along as a high school student and we were just roaming about and I also spied the weather vane

They have a town square and they have made it rather fun with deckchairs

This is the castle behind where we are sitting

and a walk by the castle through it's grounds

Takes you to the harbour

Oh fairy door!!! how sweet

Sometimes it is just those patchwork fields that pull the eye. It is such a lot of green

The sea this day was quite colorful and people about and boat on high. I just love the different shapes of this scene. I think my favorite bit is the steps!

Louie must have quite as many pictures as me!

Flags fully blowing

Rapt concentrations

Sweet little lighthouse at the Cosy Nook

I think those mad fellas are about to go out onto the sea, kite surfing

This view is always changing! A dull day but lots of texture

So onto our favorite pilgrimage and the sound and the very south of the Island

Seems like a wild day and those blobs of colour are the boys

Really churning sea

Definitely need a hood

Or not, depending!

It was a misty drive back

quite murky and a bit creepy

More Wallabies, this time on the North East of the Island

If you guess the theme tune.......

Cute thatch house

This was something that I had wanted to revisit for a long time. It is a Celtic settlement

The setting is amazing

I don't normally include such an indulgent photo, but Damian looks lovely here.

Ok that's over doing it

Haha!

This is what we actually came to see. Look at the heather in the grasses...and the ancient stones

The corn field and path make for quite the colours

Oh Wallabies!!!!

That is the end of the summer adventure. But don't worry, I have been snapping since I have returned to Canada and we will have fall pictures next!