Couleur d' Automne

I like this time of year. In fact it may be my favorite time of year - late Summer through Autumn - though there is certainly something to say for Spring as well. I like this time of year for any number of reasons, not the least of which has to do with the light, particularly the light of morning and evening. The world may not have the wealth or vibrancy of colors that Spring brings with it, but there is a certain richness to the earth tones that seem to be everywhere, a richness that is enhanced by the increasingly slanted rays of light, and the lengthening of shadows. The same shadows that give added definition to ridges whose apparent knife-edges separate canyons, reaching top to bottom on the mountain slopes. Up close, russet and buckskin mingle with evergreen, while the texture of wood and softly rounded granite fit right in.

Powerline and the dirt Thompson Creek Trail run roughly east / west, and when I ride those sections I head in a westerly direction. No matter how "into the ride" I may be, I rarely forget, or otherwise fail, to stop to look behind me, or over my right shoulder where the mountains rise, where the richer couleur d'Automne spring from the ground, as if summoned by the late-day rays of the sun.

You know, Powerline, could be called Powerlines, since there are two distinct transmission lines - one of the large steel towers, that I have frequently shown. The second is much smaller, is composed of the smaller wood posts, and branches off from the main line, heading into a residential area. A couple old poles have been slowly revealed over the past number of years as plants around them have receded or died back, derelict beside the trail. One has, basically, been hollowed out by fire and made quite a good stand for the Hakkalugi on this particular day.