The Pall of Fall

Suddenly, where just the day before stunning beauty had reigned, a sense of silent drabness had taken over. 

The lack of sound was so significant that only the "whoosh" of a crow's wings circling overhead broke the silence. 

It had been a long time since I sat and listened to crow's wings, maybe never.

I sat on a boulder at the Shepherd Lake parking lot, waiting for Bill and the dogs to come back from finding geocache no. 2 for the day.

After walking a pretty steep hill with lots of stumble brush while Bill was doing the same with his GPS, I came back down and walked over to the shore of the lake, looking for any scene worth of snapping a photo.

Even with digital, I don't like to waste photos. 

I had shot a couple of pictures on the way up, but felt no creative excitement.

The lake was low and the lily pads along its shoreline were far from tantalizing.  Usually, even lily pads can inspire a picture.  

Not yesterday. 

When Bill looked at the coordinates for his second geocache, he said another trip up the hillside would be necessary.

For some reason yesterday, I wasn't in the mood.  I wanted to be outside, and I was glad to go geocaching, but I'm sure the bleakness of the day contributed to my desire for matching wits with the dull surroundings.

He and the dogs headed up the hill again. 

I walked on the level looking for anything that might make a nice picture.

When one takes a camera, one does not want to come back with empty frames.

After just a few feet of walking down the lakeside trail, I found my first opportunity for having something, anything to show for this spot on Shepherd Lake where I'd never roamed before. 

Off to the side, I saw the rosy color on a handful of apples still hanging on a tree. 

Ah, these will be nice, and I've got the time.

So, I walked around the tree at all angles, looking for some good light to highlight the apples that must have escaped the attention of the neighborhood deer.

Again, no angle seemed any better than others, so I shot a couple of pictures, grabbed a couple of apples (for the horses) and walked off.

It was 4 in the afternoon, so another sight took my interest:  an iced-over puddle with hardly enough warmth for melting.

I wondered if it will remain as such for months to come.  

Once again, a photo.

And, then there were the tamarack with needles more the color of corn than pumpkins. 

Again, I tried some angles but settled for just snapping a couple of photos.

Not a great photo shoot in comparison to the dozens of other outings this year, but still something that told the story.

We've reached the quiet and the oncoming dreariness of late autumn.  

And, for photographers, the next chapter of shooting fun must wait for the snow to come and to cover up the drabness of this seasonal period. 

As for me, I do love my photography, but I can wait.

There is an alternative.  I saw that this morning on Facebook when my friend and classmate Janis posted some of her lovely photography.

Her scenes featured desert cactus and fantastic sunsets.

Unlike yesterday's stroll through the Shepherd Lake recreational area, those photos inspired me into some planning----planning like I do every year at this time.

Where to go for dry, bare ground, warm weather and unique scenery.

Janis lives in Palm Desert, and the mind is swirling this morning. 

As we move deeper and deeper into the darkness, an winter escape plan will unfold.

The pall of fall has come, and the mind will start getting its annual work-out on creative forms of sensory fulfillment. 

Happy Friday.