a two week window

fall colors are done. the leaves are mostly down. and, as of today, the cold winds from canada have pushed their way down and over our town, where they will prevail until march. while that all sounds a bit bleak, november is truly one of my favorite months. i love the long site-lines through the woods with all the leaves down. i love the wrap-around sunrises and sunsets we get as a result of the low solar angles. i love the “skies like gray blankets” that provide perfect lighting for making my STILL photos. i love the deep slate-blue color of the lake. i love evenings by the fire. and…i love all the autumn wildflower stems that are still available for me to forage and photograph, because the snows have not yet arrived to batter and bend them into submission. this is a short season, before the snow arrives, maybe a couple weeks if we are lucky. a brief and under-appreciated transition into winter.

late autumn cone flower stem