Sunday, October 30, 2011

October Afternoon



Day dawned wet and gray. After church my parents took us out for lunch. As we sat at our table overlooking the ocean, patches of blue sky appeared until, after not much time, the lovely azure of autumn covered the sky.

We drove out to the fish hatchery and watched hordes of salmon, driven by instinct flinging themselves repeatedly at the fish ladders until they succeeded in making progress upstream. Other salmon had spawned and then, their life cycle finished, lay in the water, providing nutrients for the future.

Screaming gulls fought over fish while two bald eagles watched from high perches. Fish skeletons littered the ground here and there, a testament to the eagles' appetite. 

Sunlight filtered through the trees, some still hanging onto green leaves, others almost bare. Shadows fell long on the ground, even at 3 pm, giving heed to the quickly shortening days. A lovely day to savour October joys.


13 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great mosaic!
    Have a nice week,
    Markus

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  2. Oh, this is Paradise, in its autumn version :-)

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  3. I'm glad that the salmon are coming to your neck of the woods - due to a fuel leak near us, they haven't returned in any number to their usual spot. It sounds like you had a perfect October afternoon with your parents!

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  4. Gorgeous mosaic., love the reflection in the water. So peaceful looking. Have a wonderful week:)

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  5. Oh the description you've shared. I might have been there myself. I've never seen salmon fighting to get upstream except on film. It sounds fascinating.

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  6. So beautiful. I love how you used an image as the background...I must try that!!

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  7. Wonderful mosaic, the reflection shot is amazing.
    Happy Halloween.

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  8. Only today left in October. I wonder what November will bring?

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  9. What beautiful pictures ! I love autumn!

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  10. our Sunday after church took in a walk along our Willow River... one much like yours. also a glorious day!

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  11. What beautiful photos of the Autumn splendor! ♥

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  12. What beautiful scenery and wonderful photos. This is such a wonderful time of the year!

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