Light through the leaves

We can feel autumn changing to winter around here today. There isn't any snow on the ground, but there is a definite winter chill in the air! Not all of the leaves have fallen off the trees, but a number have. I took photos of the changing leaves throughout the fall, from the beginning of October until last week. I have been planning during that time to share a collection of my favorite photos with you guys. Now seems like the perfect time to do so, as we're transitioning from fall into winter.

I ran into some relaxing autumn music on YouTube recently, and I think it's a good fit for these photos. So if you'd like to have a little mood music while you scan through these, here you go!

A link to the music: Autumn | Ambient, Minimalism, Piano Music

I've been listening to this music for over an hour and a half now. It actually plays for two hours!

This would be a good series of photos to watch as a slideshow if you're able to. At least for me, after clicking on one photo here, I'm able to scan through all of them in a larger size.

A little closer:

I thought this was an interestingly shaped tree.

I picked a few favorite leaves and set them out ~ Small, medium, and large:

Ginkgo leaves:

This is a sight I've seen many times. There have been leaf prints on this piece of sidewalk for years. Pretty cool, hey?

These next two photos aren't of leaves, but they are of pieces of nature I saw during the last week. These will probably be the last dandelion seeds I see until Spring.

And these grasses, looking so golden in the late afternoon sun, say "autumn" to me:

This last photo is a preview for my next blog post, the one about our annual trip to Cedarburg. This was taken on an upper floor of an old mill that is now split into shops. I loved the way the light was coming through these leaves on its way into the window. They look almost lit up! This photo happens to be my computer's wallpaper right now.

Hopefully, I will get that Cedarburg post up soon! As you can imagine, I took tons of photos there. It might take a while to go through them. But I know you guys will still be up for some extra Halloween stuff, even if you see it in December! 

The beautiful colors of summer

There is a large wooded park area near where I live. In the center of the park is a beautiful rose and herb garden. Every Thursday, the rose garden is open to the public while live music plays. It's really relaxing to walk around in the evening and check out all the different kinds of roses. I took my camera with me the last two Thursdays and photographed some roses and recorded their names. For the most part, I've only seen these types of roses in this garden. Are any of you familiar with these?

Winning Colors:

Candelabra:

It's probably named "Candelabra" because the many bright buds look like the little flames on a candelabra. Here's what they looked like in full bloom the next week:

Brass Band:

Peppermint Twist:

I wish this rose smelled like Peppermint! Wouldn't that be cool?

Fragrant Memory:

This rose smells as good as it should with its name! I feel like I can smell these roses just looking at photos of them!

Artistry:

There are a lot of layers on this one.

Electron:

You can see why this is named Electron - Its color is electric!

Rainbow Sorbet:

The colors are similar to those in a rainbow sorbet ice cream. I guess it would be spot on if there was some bright green or blue on the rose. I'm not sure how attractive that would be, though!

Princess Diana:

This one is really feminine and delicate, so Princess Diana is an appropriate name for it.

Cinco de Mayo:

These look festive and like Mexican paper flowers. As you can see, there were lots of them growing in the garden.

Easy Does It:

Ebb Tide:

I've seen the occasional purple rose in a bouquet, but I haven't seen many of them growing out of the ground. It's a really pretty reddish-purple too. If you google this variety, you'll see much darker blooms available. Those would be perfect for someone with a Gothic garden.

Olympiad:

The Olympiad had a unique plate-like shape, although the ones I've seen online have a more regular rose shape.  I like this sort of wide rose with the many layers of petals.

Baronne Prevost:

Othello:

Strike it Rich:

"Strike it Rich" is a fitting name for a gold colored rose. As you can see, it varied a little.

About Face:

This is one of my favorites! I love the gold edges on those peachy/orange petals.

Livin' Easy:

This one looks almost Lotus shaped.

The Fairy:

This one is teeny tiny. I know it's a little hard to tell in this photo, since there's nothing to compare it to size-wise. Lots of these little "fairies" grow on a large rose bush.

Rose Verdun: 

Golden Wings:

There is something wing-like about this shrub
rose.

Louise Odier:

Oklahoma:

Tropical Sunset:

This is another favorite of mine. I love the colors and the stripes. I'm imagining these in a bouquet with some bright orange roses. Wouldn't that be pretty?

Michelangelo:

Dream Come True:

I love this rose! This photo of the "Dream Come True" is my desktop background now.

This photo will give you an idea of the entire park setting. The roses go on and on! You can see some columns in the background. There are some vines and climbing roses growing on those.

Which of these roses is your favorite? I'm torn a bit, but it seems I like the multicolored ones best.