Fall Colors

Final fall fling and fading colors

(Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Fall in Portland this year was drier than normal. The colors, which are primarily red and yellow, stuck around until the end of November. I took these shots on a route I normally run, through Riverview Cemetery, through the River View Natural Area, and along the Willamette River. A running injury forced me to walk it two weekends back. When you go slower, you see the same scenery differently. The leaves are now mostly fallen and the stark openness of winter is upon us.

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Enjoying Oaks Bottom’s final fleeting fall colors

(Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Portland’s fall season normally ends just after Thanksgiving. Because of warmer weather and a mild autumn this year, leaves still clung from tree branches along the Willamette River, about a half mile from my home, when the first weekend of December arrived.

I found the last hold-outs along the river’s edge and in the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, next to the river. Before everything fell to the ground, I made my mandatory fall leaves photo outing. Though this safari did not feature the Kodacolor brilliance I remember from Alaska, it more than did the job. I had a chance to photograph some of the juvenile black tail deer that have made their home in this wetlands area. I also found a few other holiday-themed treats, including decorated small rail cars used for seasonal rides from Thanksgiving through Christmas.

When I left Seattle a little over four years ago, I wondered if I could ever replace the beauty and views I had of the Puget Sound and that spectacular area from several parks near my home. Luckily I have with this space, walking distance from my new home. I never have a bad time running or walking in this urban wildlife area.

Fleeting fall colors as the last leaves float to the ground

In Portland, Oregon, the maples were sharp as usual this fall, from yellow to red. I found some lovely displays of random leaves on my car. I also saw other lovely colors, in hues of red, orange, yellow, and a rusty brown over the past week. Here are some shots I took with my point and shoot Canon and GoPro. Enjoy the autumn, if you have that where you are.

(Click on each photograph to see a larger picture of a separate picture page.)

Forest Park, when the last leaves fall

I was unable to run last weekend, so I took a walk instead in my favorite place to enjoy trails: Portland’s Forest Park. Most of the seasonal color was already gone. A few remaining maples and other trees had some remaining leaves hanging, like forlorn orphans. The place looks more wide open now. You can see through the canopy. Today, when I did a run, nearly all of the leaves had fallen. It is a nice time of year and a great time to be in this park.

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Reading the leaves … it must be fall
Fall has returned to Portland, Oregon. The colors are lovely now, in their soggy Northwest way.

I took this shot this past weekend. It must be fall. I love it, but I will now need to start taking vitamin D supplements again, with SAD season kicking in. That is for sure. Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.

A final burst of color as the storms brew darkly

Today was one of those days when the weather prediction for showers not only proved 100 percent accurate, it forgot to include the hail. But in the Northwest in November, you can stay indoors, or just get wet and enjoy this transition period from fall to winter. Most of the leaves in Forest Park, in my home town of Portland, Oregon, have fallen. They covered the forest floor in a mosaic of brown, yellow, and red. It was too wet for me to try to use my tripod. So I just held my FujiPro camera as steady as I could and clicked the shutter. I got a couple of OK shots. It was fun to see the colors and the many smiling people outdoors enjoying the rain, hail, rain again, and breaks of calm.

Random fall candids in Portland

The leaves are now falling en masse and the glory that is autumn is drawing to a close. I took a couple of shots over the past few weeks and decided to post them without any particular message, other than I enjoy sharing the season’s colors. I took two of these shots with a GoPro and one with my FujiPro, in really bad lighting without a tripod. But I still like the outcome.

Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.

Fall and fog in Portland, Oregon
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.

It was a foggy, cool, and beautiful day (Friday, Nov. 7), here in the Northwest. The colors on the oaks and maples have been spectacular, and I brought my GoPro camera on a trip to and from the swimming pool. I took these along the way, through the Woodstock, Mt. Scott, and Eastmoreland neighborhoods. I’m a sucker for color and foilage every time. What is not to like about nature doing its natural thing? (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Fall colors in and around Concordia University
I took a picture of these maple leaves in Portland’s Concordia neighborhood.
Luther Hall at Concordia University
Fall colors illuminate Concordia University’s Luther Hall.

I discovered the neighborhoods and campus of Concordia University, a Lutheran university in Northeast Portland where a friend of mine is on the faculty. This is part of my larger project to visit and document all of the neighborhoods and landmarks and flavors of Portland. The school is a little over 100 years old and still has some of the older buildings standing, covered in ivy. Fall colors were spectacular on and around the campus. The surrounding area is also called Concordia. I very much enjoyed this part of town, which historically has been associated with a lot of crime and drug traffic. Now houses start at $300,000 and up.

Fall in the Chugach Mountains
Taken in 2006.
Taken in 2006.
Taken in 2006.

Let’s be clear. I will say that fall in Alaska is as good as it gets for autumn colors. I still cannot believe the colors of red blueberry bushes on the hillsides, birch trees firing up the forest canopy, and the orange and red underbrush. I took all of these pictures in Fort Richardson and Chugach State Park, both just outside of Anchorage. (Chugach State Park is more spectacular than most National Parks in this country by a country mile, if you ask me.) I do not miss the winter at this stage of my life, as of today, but I do miss the fall, all days of my life. See more of my photos of Alaska on my Alaska photo gallery. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)