Hunting for Autumn's Glory

The autumn foliage this year has not lived up to its potential.  The leaves of many deciduous trees, stressed from this hot dry summer, have just shriveled and dropped, without igniting the landscape with their typical blazing colors.  Determined to find our foliage fix, my friend Sue and I set out today to hike around the back bay of Moreau Lake, where I'm happy to say we did find a few isolated patches of autumn's glory.

We can always count on Highbush Blueberry to add its crimson blaze to the autumn landscape.

The Red Maple leaves, if they hadn't already fallen, were often spotted and shriveled, but here and there we found a few maples with red-turning leaves still clinging to the boughs, their colors certainly amplified when backlit by the sun. 

Standing beneath the solitary Black Tupelo tree that stands on the back bay's north shore, it felt like standing beneath a stained-glass window with the sunlight pouring through.

The tupelo's scarlet leaves stand out from all the rest, even when viewed from across the bay.

In the understory, the little shrubs of Maple-leaved Viburnum are turning their distinctive coral-pink tinged with purple.

This gall-infested baby White Oak looked rather festive, speckled with polka dots.

When the shriveled gray pods of Blue Flag split open, they reveal neatly clustered stacks of mahogany-colored seeds.

Perched on a gold-and-green leaf, this Leaf-footed Bug looked very handsome with its brown-and-black decorations that resembled African textile designs.