Autumn: A Diary in Pictures

The last five years have really been the first time I’ve paid consistent, close attention to the natural world around me. Living in the country has a lot to do with that, of course–there’s a lot of nature right outside my door; much different than my old suburban backyard. But I’m also trying to be intentional about it, really getting to know the plants and the animals, exploring the changes through the seasons, and learning what it means to be a steward of the land.

From a photography standpoint, I’ve been challenging myself to capture not only what I see, but also how it feels, and to make new and different (or better) photographs of the same things, year after year. It’s hard–sometimes I don’t take as many pictures, because it feels like I’ve already “done” that. But the awe and wonder never cease.

Something I hadn’t noticed before is that fall is a time of huge changes. In mid-September the world is still lush and green, there are butterflies everywhere, and the birds have just started migrating. By late November, the fall colour is past, we’ve had hard frosts and some snow, and the days are short. It’s a lot of change in just a few months!

So here are some observations of life in my “backyard” this fall:

September 1 ~ Crows are surprisingly beautiful when you can see the feather details. This one was busying itself with the end of a meal.

September 10 ~ The woods are still lush and green. This oak tree is more than a meter in diameter (a little more than a yard) at chest height! I wonder how old it is, what changes it has seen over its lifetime.

And the ilex berries, also known as winterberries, which will be hanging on bare branches in December, are still surrounded by lush foliage.

September 11 ~ The little Clouded Sulphur butterflies were everywhere, dancing in the sky.

September 13 ~ Little birds like this Common Yellowthroat were fattening up on dogwood berries. It will soon be flying south, to spend the winter in the southern United States or even in Central America!

September 26 ~ Still seeing monarch butterflies. I kept telling them to get a move on, they have a long way to go and winter is coming!

September 27 ~ While walking the dog, a phone snap of the last wildflowers: a crazy jumble of goldenrod, purple New England asters, tiny white asters, milkweed pods, and more, at the edge of the field.

By October 11, the forest floor is covered in leaves of all colours. I liked this as-I-found-it still life with Wild Turkey feather.

Huge fungi always catch my eye!

October 17 ~ I was over the moon to spot two Eastern Bluebirds! I had seen a pair in the spring, and then none all summer. These must have been on their way South, as they don’t stay here in the winter. The bird’s colours mirror the blue sky and fall foliage, or is it the other way around?

The bluebirds like the dogwood berries too.

The next day, a Northern Cardinal let me get some pictures. Again, the fall colours just make everything more beautiful.

His feathers are a little scruffy looking; he’s going through his annual molt, losing old feathers and growing new ones. It’s carefully timed, so as not to use extra energy while raising young in the spring, and before the cold weather really sets in. Northern Cardinals are year-round residents here.

October 18 ~ Glorious fall colour!

October 23 ~ Not exactly in my backyard, but still on the island. A walk on the edge of Lake Ontario, with drama in the sky and squalls on their way. Sun and a downpour, all in one view.

November 8 ~ The day after the first, early snowfall, our friends tell me to come over with my camera. A pair of muskrats has set up house on their shoreline. I lie on the ground, waiting, for a long time; they finally come out and I stay until I’m freezing cold and the light is almost gone.

November 10 ~ A bit of snow; it only lasts a few days but it’s a taste of what’s to come.

November 11 ~ We attend a moving Remembrance Day ceremony, and time in the woods feels like a fitting way to continue to observe the day. This buck ran off before I could get a better angle for a photo…

…and for a while, this Hairy Woodpecker kept me company.

That night, in spite of cloudy skies, we were briefly able to see the northern lights.

We hear coyotes most nights, all year round, but these days we often see them in the fields surrounding the house. They’ve left the (scant) remains of a deer and we’ve even seen them curl up for a snooze on top of a hay bale!

That’s enough for now… there’s more autumn to explore before winter arrives!