Happy October! I believe October may be my favorite month. It has seemed that way most of my life. There may be many reasons reaching way back to my childhood. As most of my time was spent outdoors certain months just seemed more pleasant than other to be outside. Here in the Midwest October is the month of plenty. Plenty of activities celebrating the beginning of the Autumn season, wonderful weather, trees, shrubs and most all flora life doing their thing and turning spectacular colors of every kind! It’s as if Mother Nature puts on a final show letting us know she still has it.
I will be increasing my time again as well in nature. The opportunities will be limitless for a short time. I know that is a personal mindset and opportunities are always limitless if you want them to be. I must be more influenced by color than I may realize. The colors of Autumn seem to get my juices flowing on high again. Every year I get excited when I see the first sign of the change.
I may get a little overloaded in the coming weeks. The beginning is just starting. This shows up (for myself anyway) in the grasses. The deep greens slowly fade and make way for the golden colors to take over. Sumac is always a good sign. The prairies are full of mostly Smooth Sumac in these parts. There are a couple other varieties but the smooth always stands out with it leaves becoming the deepest most brilliant red of maybe anything in nature. As always my camera will soon be focusing on lots and lots of sumac.
I have done a little prairie cruising lately to start getting the feel of the lands and rate of Autumns progression. It will help in planning a few extended stays into some areas. I will mention briefly that in a few weeks I am going to be in a place I have never visited in Autumn, The Smoky Mountains! Whaoo! I will be there for a week during what typically is peak color time. I hope I can handle it. It may overload my circuits as well as my cameras memory cards! I have already started looking at areas to explore while there.
A few road trips the last couple of weeks have led me through some familiar areas. Mostly Pottawatomie County. Being my home stomping grounds I seem to gravitate to that area. Not much in the way of color changes yet but bean fields and hay fields I came across looked great. I drove up a familiar road that I find myself on quite often towards the end of the day. It one of those road that is just relaxing to slowly meander on. I decided to stop as the sun was setting and enjoy a nice view across one of the fields and make a few captures of the setting sun as it made it’s way slowly behind the distant Flint Hills. There is never a bad time to do such things and it is always great when Mother Nature helps paint the sky along with few extra splashes of color are thrown in.
© Brad Mangas
