Saturday, September 03, 2011

Marsh in Fall - From My Archives

1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP

My archives are about depleted - but here's an oldie of the marsch I love ... it was done in the fall - probably last year. While I was living in Charleston, South Carolina, a coastal community, there wasn't that wonderful pronounced fall coloration that folks have in the northeast US - those deep magentas and reds and golds and oranges. We get a bit more of those colors here in piedmont North Carolina.

In Charleston, though, I would watch the marsh and observe the how the marsh grasses - spartina, needlerush, and others - lose their vibrant green in the fall, and turn a bit more tawny, to finally a more tan to brown color. The maritime forests along the marshes - those almost evergreen climax forests unique to the region - are filled with live oaks, magnolia, sweet bay, palmettos, and the few maple and oak growing among those evergreens - were the only hints of fall color - and rarely turned as vibrant a color as the same species growing in New England. Still, the marsh had its own seasonality -- and I loved it in each of them.

We're in for bouts of rain this weekend, and our eyes are turned once again to the bustling activity in the Atlantic. Hurricane Katia is the storm our forecasters are watching most closely. This 'K' hurricane replaced a similiar one - Katrina - that devastated New Orleans several years ago - and at about the same time in September. We're hoping that Katia turns northward ... and soon ...

We've some outdoor chores to do between rain showers...and the heat is returning for the weekend - still, in our drive yesterday, we have already spotted bits of yellow in the trees and very much along the roadsides ... and here and there, the first leaves of red can be found in the sumac ..

Fall is a comin' ...

Have a great weekend!

2 comments:

Lorraine said...

I love the tawny colors Lin, and I especially like the way the water cuts through the land, leaving a very predominant ridge on the right. Wonderful!

It was 98 here yesterday and 102 in Louisville. Most of the state was 98 to 102 -- breaking records again. Whew, fall is coming sometime but right now it's hard to believe!

I too hope the storm turns somewhere -- back out to sea and that you just get the rain we so badly need now. Our grass is burned up and the trees are looking pitiful.
Big hugs,
Lorraine

Teri said...

Oh my, these colors are just gorgeous!!!