Saturday, October 24, 2009

i roam the woods that crown the hill i live on

the sun is low on the western horizon.
time to go and see the woods
before the rain and winds of the coming days
convince them to shed their summer dresses
and prepare for the wintry blasts
that are surely coming our way!
lover to listening maid might breathe his flame . . .
"the summer tresses of the trees are gone,
the woods of autumn, all around our vale,
have put their glory on"
i roam the woods that crown
the uplands, where the mingled splendors glow . . .
forever in thy coloured shades to stray . . . 
 
all text (in pale grey) william cullen bryant

29 comments:

Delwyn said...

Hi Steven

what stunning colours you are enjoying...

Happy days

alaine@éclectique said...

All beautiful in colour and will still be beautiful, naked, in winter.

Tess Kincaid said...

Glorious colors!! And I love the Bryant... 'neath you crimson tree,
lover to listening maid might breathe his flame . . .sigh.

Barry said...

If you had anything like the winds and rain we experienced here last night, steven, I think those summer dresses are in tatters by now.

It is a shame such beauty is so fleeting.

steven said...

hello barry - i'll be walking over there later. the trees have withstood some fairly heavy-duty winds and rain over the last week and some of the trees are half-clothed now but a surprising number have held onto most of their leaves. have a peaceful saturday. steven

steven said...

hello delwyn - i am enjoying them!! everywhere i go its the most amazing scene - yellows and reds and ornages and even some green still!!! the roadsides are covered with mostly yellow leaves. have a peaceful noosa evening. steven

steven said...

alaine - you're so right!!! the starkness (especially when it's covered in snow) has its own beauty/ i'll be sharing it here of course! have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

the bryant willow yes!!! so romantic!!!! if life was a little slower . . . . . hmmmmmm. have a lovely day at the manor. steven

Pauline said...

the colors are spectacular, and oh, that scent of scuffled leaves and resting earth... beautiful post!

Anonymous said...

These colors are wonderful. I hope it doesn't mean your winter will be deep in snow.

Golden West said...

What a splendid display of autumn color, Steven! The last picture looks like it holds the entrance to a magical world beyond.

Tracy Golightly-Garcia said...

Steven
What beautiful earth colors!
Your did a great job in your picture taking.

Best
Tracy :)

ellen abbott said...

That second picture, the colors are so brilliant. I wish I had some woods nearby to roam through. Not sure why we chose farmland on the coastal plains instead of going east to the piney woods, except my sister lived here.

steven said...

hello ellen - i wish i lived by water sometimes. the woods are a magic place for me and when i think back to being very little and hiding inside clumps of bushes and watching the world go by, i realize that they have always been a source of fascination and happiness for me. have a lovely day. steven

steven said...

hi tracy - thankyou so much for that generous comment!!!! i really like taking photographs and i'm blessed to live in an amazingly beautiful area. have a peaceful day. steven

steven said...

hi golden west - right under those tres is my favourite entrance to that wood. it's not used much so it gets overgrown!! perfect!!! wildflowers grow there that might otherwise get stepped on. the branches are a bit wilder as well. have a lovely day out there. steven

steven said...

hi abe - the snow stops me biking so i have to tolerate its presence. but it does make for some beautiful scenes and moments abe. life is like that!! steven

steven said...

hello pauline - thanks for that. the earthy woody smell is magic and today it's a bit warmer out than it has been so i'll be in some woods somewhere filling my head with those sounds and smells and colours, that's for sure!!! have a lovely day yourself. steven

hope said...

This is the reason autumn is my favorite season..the abundance of beautiful colors! [Of course our autumn is confused right now: 2 days ago I had to wear a sweater to work and now I'm in short sleeves and hubby turned the air conditioner on!]

I also look forward to the winter version. I've always had this thing about trees and I love the silhouettes their nakedness makes against the sky.

Have a great weekend with that good looking family of yours!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Steven - I could look at this photographs all night - the colours are just so very beautiful. What a shame that soon the leaves will fall. Although I do love the skeletal trees of winter too., Have a lovely weekend. Is it your half term now? Do you have such holidays?

Friko said...

Red and gold, the colours of October. Are these your photos and do you really live amongst such splendour?

If so, you fortunate man.

I have let October take me along a rather different path from yours.

BTW I just saw the ocean photos on Bonnie's blog, breathtaking. Now I must go and follow your link to the photographer.

steven said...

hello friko, yes those are my own photographs! the woods are about one hundred metres from my laptop! i am very very fortunate . . . and there are more lovely autumn photos coming. thanks for your kind comment. have a peaceful evening. steven

Elizabeth said...

So astounding each and every year!
So glad we live where there are seasons....

steven said...

hello weaver - oh i am so glad you liked them!!!! we next get a holiday at christmas. it's a long stretch without a break!!!! have a lovely day in the dale. steven

steven said...

hello hope - i love all the colours. i was just taking some pictures of fallen leaves and was amazed at the colours i saw!! they'll show up soon on the golden fish. i am enjoying this weekend with my kids. one's getting our house ready for hallowe'en, the other's out hanging around with his buddies. have a lovely weekend yourself. steven

Margaret Pangert said...

Your photos are so vivid! The words "flame," "glory on," and "mingled splendors glow" so befit them! I saw a great quote on Marion of Dragonfly's Poetry and Prolixity's blog today: "Winter is an etching, Spring a watercolor, Summer an oil painting, and Autumn a mosaic of them all." (Stanley Horowitz) There is definitely change in the air; some things are dying, some new.

Jinksy said...

And I thought it was Mars, they called the Red Planet?!

Jenn Jilks said...

So glad to see you putting the quoted works in quotes.

Our Muskoka trees are nearly barren. Wind whipping the branches, leaves fall like rain.

BT said...

What amazing colours those trees display. We have a 'Liquid Amber' tree that is quite spectacular but not so many others, only beech vies with those red trees. How stunning they are.