Starry, Starry Sweet Gum ...

 “How beautiful the leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”

                ~ John Burroughs

                    ~ 1837 ~ 1921

The leaves of a sweet gum tree are the star of show, tinting the landscape with hues of autumn on a late October afternoon at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The most distinctive feature of the leaves is the star shape, typically with five pointed lobes. In summer they are a glossy dark green, and in the fall they turn striking shades of red, orange, yellow and purple, often with multiple colors appearing on the same branch or tree.

The Sweet Gum is highly prized for its beautiful autumn foliage. It is one of the most common hardwoods in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States.

An Autumn ...

 “As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colors enough to paint the beautiful things I see.”

           ~Vincent van Gogh

                ~ 1853 ~ 1890

A late October evening comes softly as sunset rays pepper the peaceful beauty of autumn at the ford of the Jordan Creek, one of my very favorite places to be and to photograph, at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

Rural Red October ...

 “In October a maple-tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp. Even on cloudy days its presence helps to dispel the gloom.”

             ~ John Burroughs

              ~ 1837 ~ 1921

A gorgeous red maple tree lights up the autumn landscape behind a barn of a complementary red hue on an October afternoon along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) in Laurys Station, North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

 

I captured this shot near the Cove Road Trailhead, which is near a Lehigh River Water Trail access point at Treichler’s Bridge. The trail is part of the Asher F. Boyer Eagle Trail section of the D&L.

 

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

October Riverscape ...

“There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.”

                   ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

                       ~ 1804 ~ 1864

A man stands on the banks of the Lehigh River and takes in autumn’s beauty as sunshine and temperatures that soared into the 70s fashioned a beautiful October afternoon along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

I captured this shot this after setting out from the Cementon Trailhead of the D&L Trail in Cementon, Pennsylvania, part of the Asher F. Boyer Eagle Trail section of the D&L.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

 

Watercolor Sugar Maple ...

 “Art is man’s nature; nature is God’s art.”

 ~ Philip James Bailey

 ~ English poet

 ~1816 ~ 1902

Paint brushed with autumn hues, a beautiful sugar maple tree is the star of a sun splashed October afternoon in this painterly image I captured at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The sugar maple is one of America’s most-loved trees ~ and mine! In fact, more states have claimed it as their state tree than any other single species ~ for New York, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Vermont, the maple tree stands alone. One of its most prominent features is amazing fall color. As the seasons change, the leaves turn vibrant shades of yellow, burnt orange, and red.

Of Pale Yellow Mornings ...

“There are pale yellow mornings, when the mist burns slowly into day, the air stings like autumn …”

            ~ Robert Hass

                 ~ born 1941

       ~ Poet Laureate of the United States

            ~ 1995 ~ 1997

The mist rises poetically soon after sunrise on a brisk and beautiful late October morning near the Ford of the Jordan Creek, one of my very favorite places to be and to photograph at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

 

Spun Gold ...

“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.”

           ~ Jim Bishop

           ~ 1907-1987

   ~American journalist, author &

            New Jersey native

Autumn has spun its golden beauty in the towering trees that reach for the bright morning sky on a beautiful mid-October day at Upper Saucon Township Community Park, Upper Saucon Township, Pennsylvania. Dedicated in 1996, the park covers approximately 50 acres and includes nearly two miles of walking/jogging trails that segue into the Saucon Rail Trail.