Images of my favorite season

For as long as I can remember, my favorite season of the year has always been Autumn. I love the cold mornings and the warmer, but crisp afternoons. I love the changing colors in the trees, and the smell of wood smoke emanating from people's fireplaces. Where I grew up in the forests of northern California, I also fondly remember the somewhat acrid but pleasing aroma of burning piles of leaves.

Sacramento's change of season isn't quite as glorious as it is in the mountains to the east and north, but there are plenty of deciduous trees in this city that still give it a go. One of those trees resides on my front lawn, and here is a picture I took when it began to turn:

For a true feeling of Fall, you must get out of the Central Valley and go into the mountains. One of my favorite places is the volcanic countryside of northeastern California. The following photos were taken yesterday on Highway 89 between Mount Shasta and Burney.

I have seen better days to photograph my favorite mountain, but Mount Shasta is always willing to look dramatic. Meanwhile, when I turned to my left, I saw this dramatic scene:

The weather in northeastern California during the fall can be predictably unpredictable. One second it's sunny, then the clouds move in, then it's sunny again. Then you get some thunder and lightning. The changing weather and lighting conditions makes for great photography, especially when its sunny in one area, and shady in others, like this scene of a dry lake bed, for example:

I had to pull over to take this photo when I saw the cloud shadows falling on the hills in the background. To my right, I caught this image:

Northeastern California is so desolate, but is so beautiful. In the spring, everything you see here is green, but you can't beat the fall for dramatic photography. Speaking of dramatic photography, I will end this montage with my biggest weakness, which is evergreen trees silhouetted against the dusk sky. I never get tired of taking these kinds of images:


That's all I have for you until my next adventure into the wilderness.

Good Day to You, Sir