Fall 2017: Creek and Cat, Part 1

Breath taken upon arrival

Fall is moving in fits and starts this year. It’s like we hardly noticed masses of color  crinkling and dropping off the trees, fast. But a few mature bright patches still linger around us, while farther up the road, we see panoramas of newly minted reds, yellows, and oranges. Greens too, they’re still out and about. These photos were taken November 11, 2017 and are unedited. Except the cat picture from August, which I did tinker with.

Wait, there’s more

There’s a tree on the opposite bank, a Sweetgum with two trunks that fused together and then diverged. Beavers have chomped away on the base near ground level. This double tree casts large shadows into the creek at the point where the rapids increase. Those shadows change with the shifting of sun slants, currents, water volumes, canopy leaf loads. The varying shapes might look humanoid at times, though not always.

Emerging shapes that can be anything

Here comes one of those shadows!

I can prove it’s autumn

Evidence of fall, of leaves turned color and shed.

Smart Little Ultraviolet Girl

“The color’s off in those pictures, there’s not enough ultraviolet. You can’t tell because you don’t see into the ultraviolet but I do.” So says Ultraviolet, the cat with a flair for editing. And science, up to a point.

The large leaf is Broadleaf Magnolia

“Um …”

Leaves jam and sparkle

“I heard y’all go out, and then crunch leaves all the way to the creek. I should’ve been taken along. Y’all needed more Ultraviolet, not less, and I needed a drink of that creekwater.”

Leaf pack examination

“Sweetie, your presence doesn’t increase ambient UV radiation. You know that. Nice try, though.”

Hanging in there

“Yeah, I know. But you’re always saying you don’t have the best light to photograph me in the house. The answer is at our doorstep, take me outside and I’ll outshine any leaf or tree or creek. You won’t have to edit pics of me!”

As currents go by

“You’re already prettier than any scenery, no matter how low the light.”

Close Travels

“I am! Purrrrrrrrrrr. Ya know, the creek is a perfect backdrop for a black cat like me, it would bring out all my red highlights and dark depths, I’d look so fetching out there, I would light the place up. Best thing you could do for your website.”

The light from one red leaf goes out to play in the water:

Where are we?

“That’s a great idea, maybe one day I’ll learn how to photo edit you into the creek pictures.”

This scene hasn’t been seen before

“Whoa!? I meant I need to actually smack that water with a paw. You wouldn’t be able to  match the lighting on the creek with the lighting on me in editing. This needs to be paws on!”

Talented ripples and swirls

“I hear more yipping coyotes out there than ever this year, sweetheart. What do you say, I’ll scritch and you purr?”

Dancing by the banks

“Puurrrrrr. This discussion isn’t over though, puurrrrrrrrr.”

Back around the house, those trees!

Lofty tangles

Trees always know what they’re doing

“Puuuurrrrrr. Not over. Puuuurrrrrr.”