Luminous shadows across Aspen Grove
By the time I reach the scree slope the light is beginning to fade from the sky. As the sunlight fades, the autumn forest glows with its own surreal light. It's as if each leaf is giving back the light it absorbed through the day just past. The colors are so intense that I have to stop and just look at them. There is a magic of reflection and shadow here, and it's beyond my skill to capture with a camera. The pictures look merely dulled, but the eye sees mysterious fire burning everywhere. It is a glory and beauty that I long to preserve and share. But from here down the pictures didn't even begin to show what I saw; and soon the light was not strong enough for them to show anything but a dull unfocused blur where my eyes saw a maple tree radiant in its own light and casting shadows. Only a few pictures came out with enough clarity to share; they were close-up shots I took of the vegetation at my feet here at the edge of the scree at the end of the day.