Autum & Inventions

As every photographer knows, and these days that includes anyone with a camera phone, fall is the time for capturing colorful leaf pictures. The tiny phone cameras are one of man's most useful inventions and they are put to the test daily. According to Popular Photography, about a trillion photos are uploaded every year. That includes over 200,000 a minute going up to Facebook and at least 30,000 a minute to Instagram. Of course most of those are pictures of cats and dinner plates rather than colorful fall leaves.

It's a blissful time as we humans watch the hues of nature take their course. Thankfully, you don't have to be a botanist or even an adult to appreciate the rush of fall colors; and the price is right: free! There is something peaceful and somber about falling leaves as evidenced by thousands of  autumn themed poems and paintings created for centuries. Then, like an empty glass of ice tea on a scorching hot day, the show is over and tree limbs lay bare, ready for winter.

When the camera clicking ends, and the leaves are on the ground, the blissful feeling ends as one of man's worst inventions of all time makes its presence known: the powered leaf blower! If you live in town or in a rural area, you probably hear these infernal machines blasting away at leaves, moving them from one location to another while creating a racket and wasting power and fuel. What ever happened to rakes? I suppose the motivation comes from trying to gain the upper hand on the change of seasons. But I digress....

If you've been out and about on local trails lately, you've probably noticed some colorful berries and seeds along with all the leaves. We've seen quite a few, so I wanted to give equal time to these unsung heroes that brighten our days in a more subtle way and in many cases provide nutrition for birds and insects long into winter.

English Hawthorn - Non Native

Common Snowberry - Native

Clustered Wild Rose Hips - Native

Red Osier Dogwood - Native

Creeping Cotoneaster - Non-Native

Fuller's Teasel - Non-Native

Pacific Madrone - Native

English Holly - Non-Native

If you go up to the mountains, you might
see the native Cascade Mountain
Ash (Sorbus scopulina).

In the valley, Rowan (Sorbus sp.) is related to the shrub shown
above. These trees are native to the Northern Hemishere
and have a rich history of folklore and tradition. See link below.

Even though I hate to see summer end, there is much to look forward to in the coming months besides photo ops: apple cider, pumpkin pie, spice lattes, standard time, and of course the joy of replacing the batteries in our smoke alarms!

For a closer look at some of the shrubs and trees in this post, two good books published at OSU Press are available at bookstores and public libraries. There are also abbreviated online versions. See links below.

Links:

Trees to Know in Oregon

Shrubs to Know in the Pacific Northwest

Rowan Wiki Page