A few (!) fall photos ...

It has been a gorgeous few weeks here in West Michigan. I've been out and about with my camera, trying to capture the handiwork of God. The photo above is of a 500# pumpkin on display over at Robinette's Orchard ~ isn't it HUGE??!!

 The other day, I was looking for a place to take a nice hike so I googled "parks in Rockford" and low and behold a park I never knew existed popped up on my computer! A nature reserve nonetheless! This is Pickerel Lake Park, a Fred Meijer Nature Preserve, down Ramsdell a little beyond Townsend Park.

I took an amazingly peaceful walk ALL AROUND Pickerel Lake the other day. The colors were ... fabulous! 

 I have had a long-running love affair with trees ever since I can remember ~ most likely influenced by my literary friend, Anne Shirley, and her writer LM Montgomery. Montgomery can describe the beauty of a woodsy walk better than anyone I know. And Anne regularly "named" her favorite trees. I've always liked that she did that.

 I got to do a little tiny bit of climbing as well because ... if you go DOWN a ravine, you simply have to get back up and out of it!

 I think this is one of the most colorful falls we have had in a very long time ...

 It was so fun to just be out in the woods enjoying God's creation. My friend, Wendy, was along for one of the hikes around the lake too. 

 The above shot is me attempting to photograph the many birds, elusive creatures, that were yapping up a storm in the middle of the lake. But not one single one came close enough for me to actually SEE and photograph.

 We've had almost draught conditions in West Michigan the last few years. I'm thinking Pickerel Lake is VERY low on water. I will be very interested to hike out here ... all winter ... and into the spring.

I hiked Pickerel Lake two days in a row. The first day, these trees did not have a single mark on them. They were located at a crossroads by the restroom area and I know I would have noticed this! But the second day ... look at what the busy beavers had been up to during the night! Yikes. TIMBER!!!! 

I also hiked around various paths at Warren Townsend Park ... beautiful beautiful spot!  

 The above photo is my favorite of all the pictures I've taken in the last few weeks. It was right after quite a downpour, so the tree bark is wet and the leaves as well ... making them just a delicious color.

Couldn't resist this cute little ladybug ... 

 My friend, Wendy, took this picture of me ... which turned out nice!

 This is a mushroom! Huge!

 There are many hiking trails at Townsend Park. It will, for sure, become a regular "haunt" of mine ... amazing beauty out there.

 And this is Wendy. We found a teepee out in the middle of the deep woods! It was VERY cool and had a doorway and everything.

 Lots of people come to these spots to have their graduation portraits taken ... or engagement pictures, etc. It's a perfect place for an event like that ... difficult to take a bad picture here.

Well, these are just a FEW of the hundreds of pictures I took in the last few days. I will make card after card from these photographs ... thank-you Lord for your wonderful creation!