Gallery: autumn scenes around the world
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
John Keats, To Autumn
I was tempted to quote all of that poem, I love it so much. But this is a travel and photography blog, not a poetry one! Nevertheless, one more extract is apt:
Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,
In the poem Keats describes the autumn we all know and love, with lingering warm weather and bountiful harvests. But he also celebrates later autumn days, when winter seems just over the horizon. Both have their beauty.
With the Northern Hemisphere deep into the autumn season now, Denzil suggests we share images of that season for the Nature photo challenge this week. Of course our southern friends are celebrating the return of spring, but they have their autumns too. However I’m yet to experience autumn in April, so all my images this week, while taken in different parts of the world, are all of northern autumns.
We’ll start close to my home, in my often-featured local Walpole Park, before travelling further afield.
Squirrel in Walpole Park, Ealing
Autumn colour in Walpole Park
Autumn in Kew Gardens, west London
Autumn horse chestnut in Kew Gardens
A bright autumn day in Kew Gardens
Late autumn in Ruislip Woods, north west London
Autumn at Emmetts Garden, Kent
Fallen chestnut, Emmetts Garden
[see more of these gorgeous gardens here]
The carillon on the University of Chicago campus, leaves just turning
Fallen leaf, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania
Market display in Santa Fe, New Mexico
On Sandia Peak near Albuquerque, New Mexico
In the Big Horn mountains, Wyoming
In Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
A rainy day in Kamikochi National Park, Japan
[my feature photo was also taken here]
Another rainy day in Kamikochi National Park!
Autumn leaves by a river in Nikko, Japan
75 Comments
SoyBend
A beautiful gallery of fall leaves, Sarah! Thanks for sharing photos from several locations. Wow! 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Siobhan, so glad you enjoyed this 😀
bluebrightly
Autumn in Ruislip Woods and that gorgeous horse chestnut are standouts. 🙂 I confess I don’t know that Keats poem but I really like the second two lines you quoted and I should probably google the poem. 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Ruislip is where I grew up, those words were just a mile from our house. And they’re ancient, dating back to at least the 11th century! That is one of my favourite poems, I hope you like it when you’re able to read it in full 😀
grandmisadventures
ah autumn is my favorite time of year. The colors and coolness bring so much joy to my soul 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Mine too, although these days I feel I like the spring almost as much 🙂
equinoxio21
PS. I know so little “from” Keats… I wouldn’t mind more… 😉
Sarah Wilkie
I’ll bear that in mind, he’s one of my favourite poets 🙂
equinoxio21
Look forward to it. I just “exhumed” an old book of “American poets”. I like Frost a lot. Now I realize I know close to little of English poets.
I do know Shakespeare a bit. (Was he a poet or a bard?) But that’s because I studied in our “classes préparatoires” In France. Read Coleridge too. I’ve certainly read much more French poetry. Maybe I should “Amazon” a book of English poets…
Sarah Wilkie
I like Frost a lot too. Coleridge was a contemporary of Keats
equinoxio21
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”? 😉 I discovered that one in the business library in Grad school in the US. I more or less ran my life along those lines…
So you do like poetry a lot… Hmmm.
I’ll pull out Coleridge from the back shelf… (I still have it…)
Au revoir chère amie…
equinoxio21
PS. While we’re at it. Which Keats poem would you recommend to start? Just one… 😉
(Meanwhile, I’ve also exhumed Rimbaud and Verlaine from my shelves…) (I’m in the process of making space in my “library”, which I do every few years… Daunting. But useful.)
Sarah Wilkie
The ode to autumn I quote here is a perfect starting point. To a nightingale is probably my favourite
equinoxio21
Thank you Sarah. I will hop right there. Meanwhile, last night, my curiosity was piqued… Here’s what I kept from one poem:
“I saw pale kings and princes too,
“Pale warriors, death-pale were they all…”
(Almost committed to memory… Made me think of the current state of the world, though, of course Keats could not foresee that…)
Ode to Autumn it is, then…
Sarah Wilkie
Le Belle Dame Sans Merci – yes, scarily apposite today
equinoxio21
It is. Scary.
I was also drawn by the title. In Français, s’il vous plaît… But then at that time, in England, French was the language to learn…
He died so young. TB was a terrible thing until WWII. One or two of my – English – grandmother died of TB.
One might interpret “La belle dame sans merci” as a symbol of Death I suppose.
Despite all the above, have a lovely week, Sarah…
equinoxio21
Read both. Thank you. I think I prefer the “rossignol”.
The ode to Autumn made me wonder. To me, “on the continent”, (though I haven’t spent so much time there), Autumn is a prelude to winter. The crops have long been harvested. But it would seem that for Keats, Autumn is still rich and warm. Could it be that since the Englich weather is – ever so slightly – colder, some crops wait until Autumn to ripen? Weird thought. I do remember picking hazelnuts in our house in Normandy late in the season…
Sarah Wilkie
The poem takes you from the harvest season through Indian Summer to the pale almost-winter part of autumn, when the shallows gather and leave. The first and last verses contrast the start and end of the season while the middle one is a sort of fanciful bridge between them.
equinoxio21
It is a nice reminder. Here we have no Autumn nor winter. Makes one feel strange around this time of year…
Alison
Beautiful gallery Sarah, so many different countries. My favourite is the close up of the squirrel
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Alison 😊 The squirrel shot is a favourite of mine, he posed so nicely (rare for squirrels!)
equinoxio21
Perfect, particularly as we don’t have “Fall/Autumnn” here. Feels weird sometimes.
Now, poetry? you can put anything in your blog. It’s your blog… 😉
Sarah Wilkie
Indeed it is, but I like to try to stay fairly focused on the photography and travel aspects 😀
equinoxio21
It’s fine. One of the virtues of blogging is that each and everyone of us can focus on what they like best. (And are best at).
Personally I like variety. (Though I would never dabble in poetry. Just totally “suck” at it.)
Having said that, I haven’t posted in a while. Sort of mulling about my “next moves” I guess… 😉
Egídio
Such beautiful photos you have here!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much 😊
Tales From My Lens
All the beautiful colors! We have nothing yet 🙁
Sarah Wilkie
We don’t have much either – these are all from my archives!
Tanja
Great autumn photos
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tanja 🙂
Marie
The squirrel is wonderful Sarah – what a pose…
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Marie 😊 I have to say that’s one of my favourite local shots ever – I wheel him out quite regularly!
ThingsHelenLoves
My favourite season, beautifully captured. Autumn has felt fleeting this year, I think, with that late heatwave throwing things off and storms following.
Sarah Wilkie
Mine too, but I agree we seem to be being short-changed this year. These photos are all from my archives, I don’t think I’ve taken a single decent autumn shot yet this year!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Lovely stuff, such great colours. I’ve always loved October, the light is as crisp as any other time of year
Sarah Wilkie
Ha, you’re clearly not in England today or you wouldn’t say that – miserable and rainy all day! But I do know what you mean, it’s one of my favourite months too, usually. Anyway we’re escaping the rain / missing the crisp sun (delete as appropriate) soon – off to Madagascar on Tuesday!
thehungrytravellers.blog
The very day that we land back at Heathrow….
tobyo
So lovely!!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂
Tanu Oberoi
Absolutely breathtaking captures! 🍂🍁 The diverse tapestry of autumn colors from different corners of the world is such a treat to the eyes. Especially loved the serene image of the Grand Teton National Park. Keats would definitely appreciate this visual representation of his poem. Can’t wait to see more from your seasonal travels! Keep them coming! 📸🌍🧡
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for this lovely feedback 😀
Mike and Kellye Hefner
Fantastic fall shots, Sarah. I would love to visit Emmetts Garden during this time of year. I checked out your post and was quite blown away by the autumn beauty there. I also had never seen a fallen chestnut before, and I have to say it’s a very interesting looking nut. Now I’m going to have to Google Frederic Lubbock since that’s an unusual name and the name of our hometown. Happy Sunday.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Kellye, and for checking out the Emmetts Garden post too 😊 I hope you find some interesting facts about Lubbock – you must let me know!
Wetravelhappy
You’ve seen so much beauty Sarah. I love all your photos. You know I haven’t really experience autumn when its at its peak. It just doesn’t coincide with the school breaks of my kids. But someday… Anyway, Kew Garden, I have to remember that on my next visit to the UK.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 😊 Oh yes, Kew is lovely at any time of year and not difficult to get to from central London! We have tickets for their Christmas lights trail so expect some photos of that in due course!
Wetravelhappy
Oh I’d be very happy to see your post on that. Anything Christmas, I love. 🙂
Rebecca
Love me some Keats (and his birthday is coming up)! Autumn has yet to come here in LA (still warm weather!), but glad to see the golden foliage has started to arrive in other parts of the world!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Rebecca 🙂 All of these are actually from my archives, as we don’t have a lot of colour here yet, and also the weather is a bit too wet and miserable to want to go out and photograph the little we do have!
Marilyn Armstrong
Absolutely wonderful autumn pictures. Amazing how many of the same trees we share across oceans — and names. All your English country towns are identically named in New England. Hmm. Old England. New England. Hmm.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Marilyn, I’m glad you like them 😊 Yes, the settlers took so many place names with them, presumably to help them feel a little more at home? The same is true in Australia 🙂 I think I’ve mentioned this before but where you live in Uxbridge shares a name with the London suburb where I worked for many years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uxbridge
bushboy
A wonderful gallery Sarah 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Brian 🙂
Anne Sandler
Beautiful Fall colors from around the world (at least the northern part). Thanks for taking us there.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
wetanddustyroads
Yes, every season has its beauty. But there’s just something special about autumn, isn’t there? It must be the colours – especially when I look at that beautiful tree in Emmetts Garden and Japan is picture perfect during this season. Although I am enjoying the sunny weather here in South Africa at the moment, I love your autumn photos.
Sarah Wilkie
Can you send some of that sunshine over here please?! Glad you liked that tree in particular – thank you ☺️
Josephine Hill
Great post Sarah
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Josephine 🙂
Alli Templeton
Fantastic, Sarah, you’ve captured the most stunning of seasons at it’s absolute best. I love the squirrel, and all the wonderful colours of nature, just a shame it doesn’t look like that in the UK today! 😉
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Alli 😊 Yes, it’s hardly a glorious autumn at the moment.
Easymalc
As I would have expected, you have some gorgeous images here Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Malcolm, glad you liked them 😀
TheRamblingWombat
Autumn is such a beautiful season. Your squirrel and chestnut pictures are stunning.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Albert. Yes, my favourite season I think, although it’s not very pleasant here at the moment!
margaret21
A nice harbinger of things to come. Autumn hasn’t started here yet.
Sarah Wilkie
Nor here really, at least in terms of colour. All of these are from the archives, even the local shots.
margaret21
Yup, I’ll have to do that too.
satyam rastogi
Great post
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂
Sue
Love the image of Ruislip Woods, and Another rainy day in Kamikochi National Park especially…. The fallen chestnut appealed, too
Sarah Wilkie
Ruislip is where I grew up, those woods were just a mile or so from my home 🙂 They date back to Domesday Book times! That photo was taken during Covid lockdowns when we were bored with the walks close to home and I suggested returning to my old stomping ground (about 30 minutes drive from where we now live). There were just enough leaves left to make it worth the trip – we must go back one day to see more 🙂
Sue
I like the less than abundant leaves – adds to the scene
restlessjo
You’ve not moved far from your roots, Sarah, though you’re always on the move. Autumn is a beautiful season. I used to love bright, crunchy ones and hate the drab wet ones. Right now I’d settle for either because I’m in Faro hospital with 6 stitches in my head, waiting for test results. 😢🩵
ThingsHelenLoves
Oh no- hope you are ok Jo!
Sarah Wilkie
Only just noticed you replied to Sue here. It’s a bit late how to wish you good news in the test results and a swift recovery!