Autumn at Clay and Limestone is golden Shagbark Hickoriestowering 70 feet or more above the house.
Imagine the birds eye view of a garden you would have
if you could climb to the top of the tallest tree...
Majestic and beautiful;their golden coloring is a perfect match for October Blue skies.
Carya ovata are home to many woodpeckers and far too many squirrels.
At least once a day during the warmest days of autumnyou will find me lying in the grass beneath this tree.
It doesn't feel like autumn until
I see the October blue sky through its golden leaves.
(Some rituals are sacred)
Lying there I notice thefruity smell of ripening persimmons
and the earthy smell of recent rains.
Bees buzz around me and birds begin to sing again.
My heartbeat slows down and my breathing deepens.
Relaxation sets in.
It's a wonderful place to meditate on Autumn's gold.Go ahead and give it a try!
I promise it will, at the very least, make you smile.
"....everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." ~Elizabeth Lawrence
I do look forward to those times during the fall when I can get out in the garden and just absorb the golden rays of the sun and watch those leaves turning. Aaahhhhh....
ReplyDeleteYes, I will, thanks for reminding me, Gail! But you had better watch out for falling nuts, or make that hurled nuts from those menaces the squirrels. Love the yellow with the pure blue October skies! :-)
ReplyDeleteFrances
Yes, some rituals are indeed sacred and should not be missed. Beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteGail girl I spent some time tuning into the "Golden Hour" Yesterday .. husband and I took a little drive into the country side while I tried to capture some of these beauties .. I fear I lost too much time to take pictures of the scarlet ones .. the weather here has been terrible for taking pictures .. it peaked in between rain days and of course I MISSED that 'scarlet day" ..
ReplyDeleteI have noticed the gold leaves are more tenacious than the red ones .. they hold on to their trees a lot longer .. thankfully !!
Lovely shots with the blue blue sky back ground !! : )
Oh how I wish we had autumn colors like this....what a great way to relax!
ReplyDeleteWe have an enormous shagbark at the back of our property, so I can relate, Gail! We put our garden bench under a grape arbor beneath its massive branches, and our predecessors had attached a bat house to its trunk, which we of course cherish! Do you do anything with the nuts? We just leave them for the squirrels and chipmunks. Wonder if anyone actually eats them?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures Gail! It looks like the colors have finally arrived here in TN!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful gold leaves! Those are tall and majestic trees.
ReplyDeleteCameron
What a celebration. We have Shagbark Hickory at our new home in SC and I have been looking for some around here (in Virginia) What a grand tree indeed. On our way to the store on Saturday saw some near our airport....going back with my camera!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post celebrating autumn colours. I don't know the tree but it looks lovely against the blue sky.
ReplyDeleteI miss the glorious golds and reds of autumn, which are few here. The pecans go mostly from green to darker yellow green to brown, the oaks just turn brown. I'm waiting for a brief blaze of color, maybe next month.
ReplyDeleteYour yellows and golds are just stunning.
Aren't shagbarks the coolest? I love their form and leaves--most people just focus on the wonderful bark!
ReplyDeleteIf you wanted to lay on the ground under a tree here, you should consider wearing scuba gear. It just won't quit raining.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos. Love the shagbarks but don't see many of them in this area.
Marnie
Majestic tree, indeed! I like its trunk, too!
ReplyDeleteLove those Hickory's. The nuts are quite large I understand. Are they about the size of the Burr Oak nuts?
ReplyDeleteI used those in an arrangement for Fall.
Very nice.
Gail-
ReplyDeleteThose Hickories are spectacular! I think no season is complete until you have lain out on the grass under the trees to soak up the sounds, smells, and feel of nature. I haven't done it yet this autumn, but I watched Loudon doing it last week. Isn't it funny how instinctive it is when you are in tune with nature and your surroundings (which he is--a 2 yr old living in the moment). I think I will have to wait for it to stop raining before I can. ;-)
Gail I was just in the garden at sunrise... too chilly and frosty to lie down but I was taking pictures of my shag bark hickory all aglow in gold too ... How lovely to think of you lying beneath its relative in a warmer climate breathing in fall. Lovely photos of your gorgeous tree! Lovely thoughts too. Carol
ReplyDeleteYes, Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves, but they won't.
ReplyDeleteMore and more people are increasingly always "plugged" in and they miss out on the beauty of nature. I wish more people would appreciate it!
Ok. enough ranting.
Your photos are just so lovely. I like the looking up photos. You are talented photographer.
Rosey
Don't you just love the colors this time of year? I will wait to take your suggestion, though, until the grass dries out...which may take another week:)
ReplyDeleteI thought I was seeing things at first--if you take a quick glance at the second photo, it looks as though there is someone sitting in the top of the tree. I had to enlarge the photo to make sure you weren't sitting up there!:)
Hello Gail and thank you for sharing a golden day! Beautiful photos and lovely poetic expressive words. xoxo Tyra
ReplyDeleteI really like the dark stems as a contrast to the gold!
ReplyDeleteKarin
Love your Hickories, Gail. And the rays of sunshine weaving their way down through those warm leaves are wonderful. Happy Fall!
ReplyDeleteLovingly written and beautifully said. Yes, we all need to take that time to walk thru the woods, then lie there and watch the leaves change.~~Dee
ReplyDeletePerfect Gail just perfect.....a wonderful way to relax.....
ReplyDeleteI have had a bad day and to read that post was very very calming, thank you......
What a great way to slow down and appreciate nature! You are fortunate to have such great hickories; they are wonderful trees!
ReplyDeleteHow glorious the blue sky looks through the open limbs with those gorgeous golden leaves!
ReplyDeleteDear Gail,
ReplyDeleteMajestic indeed... 70+ feet of golden amber glory... so magnificent right in our own back yard. I can see why your ritual is soothing and meditating... I can imagine the calm looking into that crystal blue sky. So very healing. I've been snapping away at the blue skies revealed between the leaves (none golden mind you~ sigh) and breathing in the autumnal air. What a relief it has been.
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel
I love the golden color of Shagbark Hickories! I envy you having one in your garden. They stand out even as one drives down the highway. Those are gorgeous views up into the tree, of the gold leaves against the deep blue sky.
ReplyDeleteJust thinking about it soothes my soul....
ReplyDeleteI do love the shagbarks...this year there aren't many nuts being hurled from above...must be an off year....so it's so much easier to just relax and breath.
ReplyDeletegail
LOVE the contrast of the bark with the golden leaves...quite striking! Kim
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images Gail - there is nothing I like more than the Autumn leaves against an October blue sky
ReplyDeleteK
I do a similar thing. I don't look up necessarily, but I sit or lie on a blanket and close my eyes. I concentrate on what I hear and what I smell and what I feel. Fall just has unique sensory perceptions unlike any other season. I love it.
ReplyDeleteGail, how lovely that you observe your fall rituals. And that your weather cooperated so well. The gloden leaves of those hickories do indeed make the sky seem even more blue.
ReplyDeletePresimmons! I love them and their smell. Takes me back to my grandparents farm where they had a huge old persimmon tree in the front yard. But..and this is important...don't try to eat them before the first frost. :)
Beckie, I did...once and never had to learn that again. The sour/bitter taste took all day to disappear!
ReplyDeletegail
How lovely, Gail! I feel much like you about my old sentinel American elm hovering over my house ... 'eye stopper' golden stunning against the deep blue autumn sky (many stop for a photo shoot)!
ReplyDeleteGail,
ReplyDeleteStunning photos of the leaves turning color! I wish we could see a little of that down here in Florida.
My autumn rituals are not of the relaxing kind. I find myself drawn to every park I can find, just to see the foliage and take a nice long walk on a perfect day. Today made park number four for me! I do hope you get a chance to see Sedona someday. It's fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI love Shagbark Hickories! You are so lucky to have mature ones. I'll trade you a mature Cottonwood for one.
ReplyDeleteLovely golds. I love the quote at the end of the post.
ReplyDeleteStunning photos. Fall has just started to set here in my semi tropical climate. I have not seen Shagbark Hickory tree in my country yet.But it is really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteRed gets all the good press, but gold makes quite a picture. I'd love to be there, staring up at that patchwork sky.
ReplyDeleteJust reading this made me relaxed. I love your photos, too. I hope we get some warm dry days yet before the cold of winter comes to stay.
ReplyDeleteyum! persimmons and mapley shagbark hickory nuts! There is a great GREAT recipe for wild Tennessee persimmon barbecue sauce, basically cook and strain the persimmons through a colander to remove seeds and season the liquidy goodness to your BBQ tastes (i like hickory smoke and spices)and simmer it down ,just like you would with tomato.,seal it in a mason jar,of course. makes a wonderful one of a kind gift for the holidays and yum just yum yum yum if you like fruity notes in your sauce
ReplyDeleteHi Gail - what a beautiful posting - as I sit looking out at the golden leaves on our walnut tree with the wind and rain lashing around the house I fear I won't be looking at Autumn gold for long... more as a carpet on below! Have a good weekend Miranda
ReplyDelete