Elms thrive in the understory, turning late to catch autumn sunlight.
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Rock Elm, autumn
Tag: Autumn
Leaf Carpet
A Natural Wonder
Wednesday last I enjoyed shuffling along a forest carpet along the South Rim Trail of Taughannock Falls Park. It is a lost pleasure now the first snow is with us.
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Leaf Carpet on South Rim Trail
Oak Leaves, forest floor
Understory Autumn
Photographs in Gallery
Leaf Carpet on South Rim Trail Oak Leaves, forest floor Understory Autumn
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Finger Lakes National Forest 3
compare portrait vs. landscape orientation.
In the long history of this forested ridge two Iroquois tribes relied on this land for tree nuts and hunting, the soil did not support agriculture. After the Revolutionary War, the British siding Iroquois tribes were driven away and the land given as one mile square blocks to soldiers, in payment for service. During the Depression era, many of these farms were abandoned and others sold to the Federal government.
Today, there is a patchwork of private land and National Forest. This line of color marks the forest boundary on the eastern ridge side.
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I positioned the tripod against the barbed wire fence marking the posted property. A few barbs and sear goldenrod flowers just visible in the lower right corner.
Click me for another Finger Lakes Autumn post.
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Views from the Bench I
No Pun Intended
Some sights from last post.
Moss on the edge of upper Taughannock Gorge cliff, with the falls in background far below.
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Moss on Cliff Edge
The last flower of autumn, a single bloom of Ironweed.
Ironweed, late November
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
On the Edge
An Autumn Revalation
After leaf fall abrupt emptiness of Taughannock Falls is visible from the south rim. Beyond, you can just make out the enormous carved limestone slabs that protect visitors from the constant infall from the gorge walls allowing them to approach the falls.
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The Brink
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Finger Lakes National Forest 2
compare portrait vs. landscape orientation.
An open road, autumn morning, a hiking trail under a setting moon. Thirty miles of hiking trails thread these 16,212 acres. Some, like the Backbone trail, traverse farmland reverted to forest and meadow, popular for horseback riding.
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Click me for another Finger Lakes Autumn post.
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Finger Lakes National Forest 1
compare portrait vs. landscape orientation.
The only National Forest in New York State, this land is visible as a ridge to the west of our home. Here we are on the west side, the ridge of Seneca Lake in the distance.
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Click me for another Finger Lakes Autumn post.
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Glowing Leaves
Holding On
The oak holds tight to leaves, sometimes until spring when new growth pushes last year’s off. Here is a cluster on a bright November afternoon hanging above the South Rim trail of Taughannock Falls Park of the New York State Finger Lakes Region.
Backlit Autumn Oak Leaves 
Autumn Oak Leaves, detail
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Cuteness Break
Winter Preparation
Perched on its doorstep, an Eastern Chipmunk gorges on an ample supply of acorns. These small rodents are omnivores. Here are two shots, each with an acorn in hand and full cheek pouches.
Wary Chipmunk with acorn 
Chipmunk eating acorn
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Autumn Clouds
catching late light
This evening cirrus clouds filled the sky at sunset. View the following photographs to understand how these forms are named from the Latin word for a ringlet, or curl, of hair. Formed above 16,500 feet, on this day the cirrus glow with the light of a sun low in the sky.
Here is a wide view from our driveway that includes a deteriorating con trail and possibly a mixture of other cloud types, I am no expert. I used a Canon “zoom” lens for flexibility in framing. To minimize exposure time for a crisp capture of the moving object, ISO was set to to 1,000 and the f-stop minimized.
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Post production I needed to spend time removing dust spots (neglected to clean the image sensor), some of the images still have those annoying spots.
We enjoy looking west across the valley when the hills are glowing.
Click this link for another Autumn posting, “Thin Crescent Bowl Filled with Earthglow.”
References: search for Cirrus Cloud on Wikipedia.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 