October gave a party,
The leaves by hundreds came.
The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
The Chestnuts came in yellow
The Oaks in crimson dressed
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best.
All balanced to their partners
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.
(George Cooper)
Maybe not great poetry, but lively and fun, and oh, so apt for my walk today. The late afternoon slant of the sun, the blue sky and crisp air signal the very best of autumn days. The leaves whirl off the trees, falling, twirling, and landing in great heaps on the ground. Have you noticed the way the leaves chase cars? The wind blown up by the passing vehicles stirs the leaves and carries them, skittering along until they run out of wind and give up pursuit.
And I'm curious - the photo above is of a Garry Oak leaf. Not red at all. Do you see red-leaved autumn oaks in your corner of the world?
A bit of incongruous color - cyclamens blooming merrily in Easter shades of pink and purple amongst fall leaves.
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I've only seen yellow or brown oak leaves in the Okanagan, Vancouver, and on the Island. Where would Mr Cooper have seen crimson?
ReplyDeleteI've always liked this poem, Lorrie. It does seems as if nature gives a party in the month of October with all the bright tree colors everywhere. When I lived in NY I did see red and orange hued oak tree leaves. here I see mostly golden yellow aspens.
ReplyDeleteLovely! When the sun shines and the sky is blue autumn is so beautiful. Those little cyclamen remind me that spring will come again as they are so springlike. Can't say I have ever seen red oak leaves here - must look more closely.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to your question is no. We miss all the maples of up north too, that give such red beauty in the fall. We are STILL waiting for our leaves to change this year ... we have a lot of raking ahead of us. It may all come at once!
ReplyDeleteOak trees are a big feature here as they are the first two trees beyond the bay window. They sometimes have the barest russet color, but eventually just look brown and remnants remain on the trees until spring when the new leaves push them off. Beautiful foliage your way and I rather liked the poem. I'm easy that way.
ReplyDeleteWe are certainly getting quite a show this year of Autumn colors and the cyclamen too. The blue skies do help and it has been gorgeous here too. I don't think I have ever seen such a large array of cyclamen.
ReplyDeleteLovely! I've got a similar post prepared, although your photos are always superior! And that cyclamen is amazing -- the patch I track is usually in bloom much later.
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I've ever seen red oak leaves either, Lorrie, but the red maple ones in your first photo make quite a striking splash of colour on my screen. All of the cyclamen make a pretty scene, a treat for west coast people, I suppose, as here they'd be houseplants. What a country, so much variety!
ReplyDelete-Karen
I've always thought that poem was fun! Very pretty photos, of my favorite time of year.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that I've seen red oaks here in Pennsylvania!
Deanna
Stunning reds. glad to get to catch up with you Lorrie. Not intentional to not have visited for so long. Life these last few months has been exceptionally busy. Thanks for your visits and comments.
ReplyDeleteThe maple next door does not go red but my blueberry bush does and my dogwood leaves are leaning towards red, too.
ReplyDeletePretty October colors in your world. That last photo is fun...
Cyclamen, my Christmas flower in the house. I have one, just one, outside in the garden in the deepest red and to me it is my robin red breast! Have a wonderful week xx
ReplyDeleteOh, those lovely colours of fall! I have never seen a cyclamen in a naturalized state...how pretty!
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful photos Lorrie. And the poem is perfect. Red oak leaves. I think there are some in NB and also brown. I don't know about the varieties though. The photo of the cyclamen blooming on the lawn is gorgeous. I've never seen that before. Beautiful post!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos...fun poetry....a lovely visit, Lorrie!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!!! I LOVED that poem!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love it when autumn brings out a bit of whimsy and poetry flows.
Beautiful photos of autumn in your area. I am really enjoying everyone's autumn sharing.
It has just been recently that I have become aware of how often pink does show up in autumn flowers and leaves. Silly that I waited almost 60 years to catch on to that fact....pink has always been one of my most favorite colors, so how did I miss seeing it in autumn?
Great photos Lorrie! God really does the best decorating for Hiis nature parties!
ReplyDeleteI've loved this poem for years - I clipped it from a magazine page years ago. We have a slightly rusty color to some of our oaks but the really red is the maples. I even fight the school traffic in my tiny town this time of the year to see my favorite tree in her golden glory. I had a wonderful little nature stroll at lunchtime myself.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are wonderful! Oak leaves turn brown around here.
ReplyDeleteThat Garry Oak leaf may not be red, but it is many other colors all speckled to look like a warm cookie! I'd never heard of a Garry Oak, though it looks like we have them around here. Maybe we have red oaks, too! I do know that 15 years ago I started to try to learn all the oak trees and I was quickly discouraged by the vast number just in our neck of the woods.
ReplyDelete