Fall Migration in the Foothills

Fall Migration in the Foothills, a photo by linfrye .. on Flickr.

7" x 11" Yupo Paper
Alcohol Ink

We awoke to temps in the 30s this morning, frost making its first appearance and announcing that the splendid fall we've been enjoying will soon come to an end.

I am loathe to let go of my favorite season and so I'll continue to brighten the shortening days with vivid colors on my palette and extend the season a bit longer.

From Hal Borland's "Sundial of the Seasons" (1964) "Frost Walks the Valleys:"

"First frost has walked through the valleys under the half moon. You could hear it whispering through the fallen leaves as it hurried down the hillsides in the evening, feel its crisp breath as it passed you on a country road. And at dawn you could see its path, glistening on the goldenrod stems and powdering the purple asters. Midmorning, and the tender gardens in the lowlands had limp and blackened rows of tomato vines to mark its path.....

First frost is like a newcomer in a strange country, following the beaten paths of the valleys .....

Meanwhile, there will be mornings when the valleys are lakes of mist, with the frost there beneath them. There will be noons when the valley air is almost touched with June. There will be evenings when the long light on the hillsides is full of magic. And there will be nights when the wood smoke wreathes the starlight in the hollows.

But once first frost has passed this way, the pattern is set ..... and after that the frost will walk boldly over the land."

Catch the color while we can! Happy Weekend!