[singlepic id=32 w=320 h=240 float=left]Long before they’re raked into piles and burned, the leaves of October go up in flames. Beginning with the wetlands and with woods edges flecked with crimson and yellow, the torch of autumn moves steadily across the Michigan landscape, igniting the scarlet maples and lighting up groves of glowing sassafrass like Japanese lanterns.
I love early fall in Michigan, and I regret seeing it fade from its gaiety into the gray onset of the cold season. So I thought I’d share a couple of photographs I took earlier this month. Click on them to enlarge [singlepic id=33 w=320 h=240 float=right]them. The first photo shares a view from the island in Grand Ledge, west of Lansing. The second captures the sweep of the shoreline at Otis Lake in the outbacks of Barry County.
As the winds of October’s second half snuff out the fires of its first, I hope these images of the color at its peak will brighten your day.