Random thoughts ...

Many leaves falling and lining the streets. Wet on stone and brick bring out the richness in colour. Gets dark so early these days; even more so with overcast skies. Lights in shop windows are welcoming. To get: something warm to drink. The aroma of coffee, overheard voices laughing through opening and closing doors.



Look at those hardy flowers holding on; blooming away despite the cold, wind, darkness. Pumpkins add a bright and cheery touch, even in their 'yet-to-be-carved' state.



Wrapping up in a warm coat. Red is a popular colour. Wearing wool and fleece: toques, mitts, scarves. No vanity in covering heads in these temperatures -- ears get cold fast. A few leaves holding on here and there, despite the wind.

... while walking in the city at this time of year.

Torch lily and guest

I took these photos back in September at the Ornamental Gardens. From afar, what I thought looked like oddly shaped and coloured stamens and anthers, was actually the rear end of a hornet sticking out of a Torch lily flower.



Here's a full view of the few remaining blooms at the time:

Friday cloud blogging

The brightest colours don't last long during sunrise/sunset, do they. This was about 15 minutes later:



A few more:

Autumn leaves

Another tree at the Ornamental Gardens (another Euonymus bungeanus I think). This one was bright red, peach, orange and yellow, with hints of green.

Glow

n.
1. a steady radiance of light or heat
2. a strong feeling of pleasure or well-being


v.
1. give out steady light without flame
2. have an intense color and a slight shine
3. feel deep pleasure or satisfaction and convey it through
one's expression and bearing



syn.
Shine, radiate, gleam, glimmer, flicker, flare,
luminesce, heat, smolder, burn, flush,
blush, redden, tingle, thrill, beam,
light, incandescence, warmth,
heat, happiness,
contentment.

Fall leaves and berries

I took a few photos of this stand of trees at the Ornamental Gardens yesterday. I did a bit of searching and I think this is Euonymus bungeanus, but not 100% sure. The colours of the leaves are peach, rose, yellow and green.



The seeds stand out as well - bright red berries inside pink shells.







A full view:



And looking up again (thanks Scott!):







I love this time of year.

Marking 10-10-10

Andrea from a peek inside the fishbowl posted the other day about her goal to commemorate 10-10-10 by capturing 10 photos -- one photo each hour for 10 hours -- today. I thought this was a great idea and have thrown my camera into the ring.

The rules I've set for myself are to take and post one photo for each hour (not necessarily ON the hour) for 10 hours today. I was out at Jack Pine this morning for a sunrise photo shoot, so I started off early. I'll be posting a photo for 6am, 7am, 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm, and will update this post throughout the day.

You can follow along with others who are participating by checking out Andrea's blog post, as well as this twitter hashtag or this flickr group.

Enjoy!


6am - Sunrise, Jack Pine


7am - Sunrise, Jack Pine


8am - Cattails, Jack Pine


9am - my kitty, in his usual snoozing spot near my desk


10am - 10-10-10 at 10:10 heh, computer on the aforementioned desk



11am - Smoothie, at home


12pm - Burning bush out front is still ... burning


1pm - Scarves and shawls, complete and in-progress


2pm - Basil on my windowsill is flowering!

And one more for my 10 in 10 ...


3pm - Sparkler

The End.

(I think this would have been so much easier using an iPhone or other smartphone. You could set an alarm for a minute to, or heck on the hour, and then snap! take the photo, upload it right away and post. Maybe for next year's 11-11-11 ... ;-)