Tuesday, October 20, 2009

That cast of light


Yesterday, having seen two of them pretty near the house, I was out on "coyote interdiction patrol" when there was an instance of "that cast of light" that I like so much. It can happen at any time of year: a mostly overcast day gives way to bright, near-dusk sunshine. It's especially dramatic when there is a dark sky in the background, as there frequently is in those circumstances. I can't resist it.

I fear we won't have a colorful fall this year. That early snow and the accompanying low temps caused the leaves, still green for the most part, to wilt. They have now passed into a mostly olive drab phase and that's probably the best we are going to get. Too bad, as I was looking forward to some autumn colors. Maybe next year.

6 comments:

Miz Minka said...

Sorry about the lack of fall colors...but you get magical light like that, and you've had SNOW already. I'd be grateful for both. :)

Rio Arriba said...

I'm not really complaining. Too much good stuff happening for that. But I would be happy to send you some of that too-early snow, if there was any left. How about some mud? (That's almost gone, too. It doesn't last long in our low humidity. But I might be able to find you some!)

Crotalus said...

Is that a cottonwood?

I've seen cottonwoods in the summer lit up by the sun with a backdrop of dark storm clouds. They seem to shine all on their own.

BobG said...

Nice composition and color.

Anonymous said...

I like the way you can see so far from your place. I have to go upslope to get a view like that.

Rio Arriba said...

Yep, it's a cottonwood all right. It sits almost alone just east of my house (there is another one to the north about 100 yards). Both have suffered damage over the years. Cottonwoods are not particularly strong or resilient trees and shed a LOT, often quite large and seemingly healthy limbs that would really do some damage if they fell on you. When the wind comes up I get myself and the dogs out of the tree area ASAP.