birches

five, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I found a nice stand of birches in Heritage Park this afternoon. They stand out nicely against the grey and brown of the winter woods.

last rose post of the year, I promise

rosy, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I walked down to Stanley Park yesterday in what turned out to be freezing rain, and found frozen roses still clinging onto the bushes there. This is definitely the latest in the year I have ever photographed roses in the wild!

great white north

great white north, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

We had our first big snowstorm today here in western Massachusetts. Several inches of snow, followed by little ice pellets, and then rain. Fun, fun. But pretty.

swans

I pose for you nao, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Though not quite as nice as yesterday, today was still pretty nice for December, so I headed down to Heritage Park in East Longmeadow at lunchtime today. The swan was more than willing to pose for me.





Unfortunately, the sun was right behind him, but it made his feathers glow, so a bit of glare on the water isn't too much to put up with.

I also took a video of him with my iPod Nano, in which he comes right out of the water and follows me, making me giggle.

on comments

I've been getting a lot of spam comments recently, so I have reluctantly changed the settings to have all comments moderated. I apologize to all of the actual human beings who comment for creating the extra step, and I hope you understand. Perhaps the spammers will get bored with me and go away, and I can go back to unmoderated commenting.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. *g*

impressionist

impressionist, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

The trees along the pond at Stanley Park make an impressionist painting while reflected in the rippled water.

remember the sun

sweep, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It's been dreary and grey all week, so I thought I'd post a little something to remind us that the sun does sometimes shine here in New England. ;)

skitter

skitter, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Yellow maple leaves skitter across a stone monument in Pine Hill Cemetery.

bare

bare, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Today's sunset was an especially nice one, wasn't it?

bittersweet

bittersweet, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Another sign of autumn is clumps of bittersweet hanging in the bare branches; a bright spot in a landscape growing more drab by the day.

outlandish

outlandish, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Can you stand more roses? I'm just astonished that we still have them this late in the season. Truly a gift from Mother Nature.











These were all taken yesterday at Stanley Park.

possible

possible, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It was unexpectedly warm yesterday, even though it wasn't sunny. There are quite a few trees that are already bare, but there is plenty of foliage left to enjoy nonetheless. This scene is in Stanley Park, heading toward the Carillon Tower and the rose garden.

There are even a few roses left!

both sides

other side, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I took this picture the other day at Stanley Park, up by the little pavilion above the blacksmith shop (whose roof is in the foreground).

I took this pic last week from across the pond, near the center of the above pic:



You can just see the columned edge of the pavilion in the middle right of the second pic.

I like getting different points of view. :)

foliage report

opulent, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Everywhere you look, bright colors adorn the trees. Even after a couple of windy, stormy days, there are still trees full of gorgeous leaves. I love this time of year!

October roses

fancy, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

The lovely, warm weather we had on Thursday was perfect for roses. So nice to still see them this late in the season!









Even the bees were taking advantage of the nice weather.

sentiment

sentiment, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Some more beautiful foliage from last weekend.

splash

splash, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

This is my favorite photo of the weekend. It's Virginia Creeper on a mausoleum in Pine Hill Cemetery in Westfield. I like how it looks like blood splashed on the stone (how seasonal!), and also how it looks like a colorized black-and-white photo. The red on grey caught my eye from across the cemetery.

encompass

encompass, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

The foliage is at its peak, and is it glorious!

Rose garden

I've been having some fun taking videos with my iPod. Here is one of the rose garden at Stanley Park, where I take all of those lovely rose photos:

purity

purity, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Even after last night's frost, there are still roses blooming at Stanley Park!

sumac

speckled, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

The sumac turns such lovely colors this time of year!

interlude

interlude
Originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle

Last week, I received an iPod Nano, and it's one of the new ones that takes video! So of course I had to take it to one of my favorite places, and capture the river and woods out in the wildlife sanctuary by Stanley Park.