The Way of November

The Way of November © 2010 Bo Mackison

A few days ago the burning bush near my front door was alive with deep red hues, colors leaping brightly about in the winds, an aura of reds. The bush was living up to its name.

Yesterday, only a few leaves remained, now pale in color – the color sucked from the fragile leaves.

That is the way of November.

Holding Hands – A Self-Portrait

Holding Hands with Nature

Holding Hands with Nature

On the most basic of levels, this is a photograph of overlapping leaves that I took using a Lensbaby Composer. But when I saw the photograph, it seemed to be much more than a few leaves, it seemed to be another one of those self-portraits I occasionally take that aren’t an actual self-portrait, but a metaphorical portrait of self.

I look at this and see a photograph of holding hands. And I make the connection. I hold hands with nature when I am out in nature, sometimes taking photographs, sometimes hiking or camping, in lots of ways, in close relationship with the natural world.

Summer is Browning

Browning Leaves

Browning Leaves © 2008

Out and about this Labor Day weekend, always seems like this is the last weekend of summer, though the calendar insists otherwise. But studying the prairie signs on this morning’s hike, everything looks very fall-ish. Seeds are turning dark and scattering, the asters are beginning to show purple, berries are ripening, and the leaves are turning a soft shade of brown.

Bursting of a Hickory

Bursting Hickory

Bursting Hickory © 2008 Bo Mackison

Shagbark Hickory unfurling its leaves in a colorful splash of red.

Owen Conservation Park in Madison Wisconsin