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Saturday, September 26, 2009

The U.P. is on FIRE!!!

Our Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan is coming alive with glorious autumn colors.

We took our last ride (before storing our pontoon away for the winter) on our lake on Friday night, and it couldn' t have been a more perfect evening out on the lake.

There was barely any wind and the sun was setting and lighting up the shoreline of autumn colors like fire!

Here is a shot of the far shore as we headed out on the lake in our pontoon:


We are about 55% color now. Some of the trees are still green, and others are red or orange:



But, in the setting sun, the reds and oranges become brilliant, like they are on fire!:









It was about 7:30pm and about 70 degrees. A perfect night!:





Everywhere you looked, nature was putting on an art show!:






We couldn't believe how beautiful the shores looked:






I didn't want the evening ride to end:











But the sun was setting rapidly, making shadows..telling us this Heaven had to go to sleep for the night:

So, we headed towards home.
But I had to take ONE more shot before we headed in.
I am SO glad I did.
I think it might be my favorite:


I have been going out into the woods and trying to capture autumn pictures before all the leaves fall off.

Here, it can happen very quickly.

Some falls, the leaves are glorious for about a month.

Some autumns, we get wind and rain after a week or two of color and it blows them all off, quickly.

Not being a gambler, I am outside now everyday trying to capture colored leaves before Mother Nature asserts herself and brings on bare limbs and cold winds.

Wish me luck with the race.

I only want two more weeks...

just two more weeks.....

42 comments:

blushing rose said...

Be still my heart! I love these kinds of scenes ... God has the most beautiful paint brush! TY for sharing. Have a great weekend. TTFN ~Marydon

VaBookworm87 said...

Beautiful shots! I'm so jealous! Fall hasn't reached here yet... although even when it does, there are hardly any trees around here. Boo city living! lol The prettiest area we have is under construction as they repair the damn, and they're adding a dock thing that overlooks the lake... but at the pace they're moving, it won't be done until Spring.

rainfield61 said...

I hope I can be there. How good to feel it myself.

Good colur, good reflection, good .....

Bernie said...

Oh Joan the beauty of these photo's are breathtaking. I especially love the last one as well.....the colors are magnificant
I can't say enough how much I love your photo's...bravo my friend.
.......:-) Hugs

Mitzi said...

Your pictures are just gorgeous! I think we need to take a drive to the U.P.

Insanitykim said...

Wow simply breathtaking. In the famous words of Liz Lemon: "I WANT TO GO TO THERE!!"

Unknown said...

Those are absolutely glorious pictures!!!!!

Alan Burnett said...

Spectacular, quite spectacular. Wonderful work. Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

Those are totally awesome shots!!! Wonderful reflections!! Yep, it is time to view the fall colors!!! At least over your way; we aren't quite at that point yet!!

Cindy said...

Oh, how I miss a UP fall! The trolls just don't know how to bring in fall! LOL!! Keep them coming, I will live vicariously through you on my fall color tour!

Moms Musings said...

What beautiful pictures. I just love the colors and reflections. You certainly live in a beautiful area.

Lesley said...

Beautiful as always! (your pictures are nice too - hee hee) Can't wait to see the trees in full color. Thanks for sharing.

Canuck Grandma said...

great photos!

DJan said...

I knew you were out with your camera, I just felt it. The weather looks as gorgeous there as it is here. I love the reflection pictures and the colors are just awesome. Thanks for taking me along on the pontoon...

The Retired One said...

Blushing Rose: Thanks! I will be going out in the woods as much as possible to capture as many more of them as I can in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

VaBookworm: Thanks so much. Yes, when I am in the city and away from lakes and forest, I really miss nature...this time of year, it would KILL me to be away from it!

Rainfield: You would LOVE a visit up here...but you would be wise to come in spring, summer or fall, as our winters are very cold with ALOT of snow!

Bernie: So glad you liked them! I bet it is getting colorful in your neck of the woods too?! Someday maybe I can head up and meet you and do some photography!

Mitzi: PLEASE do..it is beautiful up here! If you come, send me an email, maybe we can meet and have coffee or something!!

Insanity: In the words of "Price is Right"....c'mon down!!!! ha Seriously, if you ever plan a trip up here, let me help you choose where to go and of course we will meet!

Eva: Thanks! I have been enjoying your pictures of your trip out west so much, too!

Alan: Thanks so much. Nature did all the work...I was just here to report it to you.

Cathy: I bet your leaves will turn really quick now that the cool is coming...ours seem to change a percentage a day..seriously, we go out and it is different almost daily here now.

Cindy: Don't live vicariously, c'mon up and visit! How far downstate are you? You could do a three day weekend and come and see us!!? And, if you do, make SURE and contact me so we can meet!!

Cathy: Yes, we are blessed! But just wait until we start getting snow and you see me whine on my blog about how MUCH snow we get. ha

Lesley: You are so funny! Thanks for the compliments on my pictures...this time of year it is so pretty up here, it is hard to take a bad picture. And they aren't even in FULL color yet!

Canuck: You are new to my blog, no? Did you sign on as a Follower? That would be wonderful! You must be from Canada with your Canuck name? I used to live in Armstrong Canada when I was little for a year.

Wanda..... said...

Joan...you have the best photos in this world of blogs! The 2nd, the 7th, and the Last are beyond beautiful.....it must be Heaven I guess!!!

Smiles always,
Wanda

Joanie said...

Wow Joan! Those photos are spectacular! I need to get out to the park again before the trees lose their leaves!

Brian Miller said...

oh wow. beautiful pics (i feel like i say that everytime i visit, but they truly are.) this is my favorite time of year...all the colors. heading out into the woods later today to catch a glimpse myself.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Wonderful photos, your Fall is coloring quite nicely..I think you just might be ahead of us! Fall is much too short:)

The Retired One said...

DJan: I love when the water is still and I can get reflections of the sky and shoreline...and now with the color, it is really nice out there.

Wanda: They call it "God's country" up here...now you see why.

Joanie: Don't you just love the smell of the fall leaves? It is almost a sweet scent. Hope you got to go out in the park to enjoy them today.

Brian: Hope you enjoyed the woods today..it is so fantastic to be out there. I love the scent of the autumn leaves..I could hike forever if my body didn't hurt (ha).

Far Side: Yes, autumn is too short! And then the winter is too long!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Absolutely beautiful!! I don't think I've ever seen that much fall color in person before, just trees spread out through neighborhoods. Great pictures!

grannyann said...

absolutely the most beautiful fall pics I think I have ever seen.

The Retired One said...

Catherine: Thanks so much...and we aren't at full color yet here either, so I hope to get even more photos soon if the weather cooperates. We have wind and rain today here, so I couldn't go out to get any.

Grannyann: Wow, what a wonderful compliment...thank you!

Ginnymo said...

Wow!! What beautiful photos and the colors are amazing!! I just realized you were from the U.P. I was up there in the 70's with an ex. he was born up there in Copper country. Calumet. His sisters lived in Escanaba and one had a restaurant there called The Coach Lamp. It was beautiful country.

Rick (Ratty) said...

Great shots of those fall colors. I think that last one is my favorite too. I'm still missing that short summer though. I need to get over it.

Maniacal Mommy said...

I always love a drive up north in the fall! Wonderful pics. My Granny and I used to put the leaves in her Sears catalogs. One of my favorite memories....

The Retired One said...

Ginnymo: Wow..you do know the U.P. I swear, that restaurant is still running I think. Calumet is a pretty small town...so I bet if you asked anyone in town, they still would know him. ha

Ratty: I know...I am still holding a grudge over that awful, cold summer. Thank goodness the autumn has been warm and sunny here to make up a little. But tomorrow, we drop to 50's and rain. ugh.

Maniacal: That is a nice memory. I remember putting the colored leaves in between wax paper and ironing them to perserve them or dipping them in paraffin. I can still smell what it smelled like in my memories!

Jeff said...

These are great photos, Joan. What a treat! My trip north has now detoured through AR, IN, OH, and then will go on to NY, VT, NH, and CT, and back home to FL. Hopefully I'll catch some natural autumn artwork in New England...having missed the U.P. Thanks for the posts.

Roxane B. Salonen said...

Thanks for stopping by today -- not to worry about playing catchup. I'm with you on that. But I am so glad I had a chance to see these gorgeous shots! Thank you for that gift! The very best time of night to photograph outside -- right before the sun goes down. There is that small window of opportunity when nature provides its own fill light. I LOVE it. Thanks again and keep on taking those beautiful shots.

Loree said...

Good luck. I hope you get your 2 weeks. Those pictures are beyond gorgeous.

NPT said...

Great fotos...........

Unknown said...

OMG, what glorious colors! One fall, my daughter and I drove up to New England just to see the colors and it was beautiful. Since we live in the south, our fall colors arrive later and are not as prolific.

The Retired One said...

Jeff: Bummer that you can't come up to the U.P.!!!! Maybe next year???

Roxanne: Thanks so much! It is raining and cold here today and the forecast is for the same for 5 or 6 days, so I hope it doesn't blow them all down before I can get out there again!

Loree: I hope so too. Our weather forecast for the next 5 days is cold, rain and HARD winds, so it worries me that this will blow down all the leaves off the trees!

NPT: Are you new to my blog??? Did you join on as a Follower? It would make my day!

Gaston: I would like to go up to New England some day in the fall too, to see how the leaves compare to ours. That is a pretty area of the country.

Anjanette Young said...

Oh my gosh! These are beautiful! Those shots are reason enough for me to move there!!!

SO SO beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

Patricia Rockwell said...

Retired One,
Thanks for visiting my blog. My goodness your fall colors are superb. Please keep me informed of your experiences with Lyrica.

Sara said...

The colors are so beautiful.
I will trade my 45 degrees for your 70 please:)

ashley folkema said...

Stunning! Wowza! If I could whistle through the computer, I would.

We do not have color like that down here yet. Lucky!

The Retired One said...

MommaYoung: Thanks so much!!! Unfortunately, it is raining, windy and COLD today, so I couldn't get more photos yet...I hope the hard winds do not blow the leaves away.

Patricia: I am not on Lyrica, but was considering asking my Dr. for some..but the listed side effects are scaring me.

Sara: No need to trade..today is COLD in the 40's too and windy and raining. I so hope we get some sun back before the leaves all get blown away so I can take some more photos!

Ashley: Thanks, so much..a real compliment coming from such a wonderful photographer as YOU.

Shelley said...

Wow - it's looking gorgeous by you! Can't wait for the updates!! I'll be able to do a fall color check this weekend.

The Retired One said...

Shelley: I couldn't get out today to get any more photos, that's for sure...it was rainy, cold and very windy. Sure hope all the leaves don't blow off before I can get more pix.

SquirrelQueen said...

Beautiful photos of all those gorgeous colors. I love the reflections on the water, it just doubles the color.

Great shots. Our leaves are just barely starting to show a tiny bit of color. Like your area we also might or might now have a long display of the foliage depending on the arrival of the winds and rain.

The Retired One said...

SquirrelQueen: I know! We had 60 mile an hour winds here two days ago...I am sure we lost some of the leaves in the process. Today is without rain, so I will be heading out to try and capture some more shots before the rain and wind returns! It is a constant race :-} !!

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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