A few years ago, I flew a couple thousand miles and drove some more to see New England’s fall foliage. Today, within walking distance, I marvel at the colours of autumn right in my neck of the woods.
We don’t have maples trees here. Our fall colours are mainly yellow and rusty orange.
Birds have mostly flown south, what’s left is a scenery of silent gold… until I come to this aspen grove. No, they’re not silent at all, as I see how these trees put on a show of vibrancy.
Kawabata entitled one of his books The Sound of the Mountain. Here, I can hear the sound of flaming aspens, full of vitality and life.
Surely, Robert Frost had wisely noted that nothing gold can stay, and yet, I find these simple lines speak louder, as if in reply:
The leaves do not mind at all
That they must fall. *
If only for a short, ephemeral moment, they fulfill their purpose and shout out the sound of life.
_________________
*From the poem ‘The Leaves Do Not Mind At All” by Annette Wynne
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Arti,
Autumn is my favorite season, cool and crisp days, endless scenes of leaves turning gold and crimson. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos of gold and rusty yellow taken from your neck of the woods. BTW enjoy re-reading your post from 6 years ago of your New England road trip.
Yinling
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That’s a memorable road trip and I’ll always have these posts as keepsakes.
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Wow — this is just dazzling. You are far ahead of our Michigan color, which is just tinges here and there. This is really stunning.
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I miss the reds of New England… but I’m fine with the gold. 🙂
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I remember your trip to New England and the rich colors of the hardwood forests back East.
And oh the Golden Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) — which in its Latin name explains the “tremor” of the leaves and stems. This definitely adds to the music they create when wind whispers through an Aspen stand.
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That’s so interesting re. the Latin name of the Aspen. As for the sound, you know, there wasn’t any wind at the time… but when I looked at the photos I uploaded, the vibrant images made me think of them as making noise, raving with vitality… shouting out loud, like flames dancing, all metaphorically of course. 🙂
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I suspect Arti that you are a treasure 😉 You write beautifully.
The stems (where they connect to the leaves) are triangular and in the breeze make the leaves sort of quake, shiver and quiver!
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Wonderful and apt description of the Aspen. I’m so glad that the Latin term is so vivid. And I’ve been captivated by them for years since they are so close by. They look fresh and beautiful too in the spring… as you can imagine.
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How beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
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We have weeks and weeks to go before any color appears here, and we’re so short on hardwood trees like aspens and maples that we have to make do with more subtle colors. Still, in a few weeks it will cool a bit, and we may hear the sound of autumn too! I had hoped to travel a bit north this fall, but it’s not going to be possible. I’ll have to see what Texas has to offer this year!
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Your autumn sight must be very different from ours, not sure about the sound. Do describe them when you hear it. Looking forward to your autumn posts. 🙂
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So pretty to see these Fall colors. We are hoping to see some when we drive through the mountains into North Carolina.
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I’m sure you’ll see more colours there instead of just shades of gold. Enjoy your trip, Ellen! 🙂
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What glorious gold it is. We are too warm for many aspens to do well, but there is a smattering of them here and there. Magical.
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We’re different worlds apart… no lemon trees in my backyard but I’m fine with our gold. 🙂
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Absolutely gorgeous Arti! You might not have maples but those aspens sure do put on a show.
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Looks like gold does stay with us, if only for a month or so every year … the purpose of that New England road trip was to see some red. 🙂
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