| Tuesday, October 31, 2017 |
| Season Of Change |
Every season has it own harbingers of change. For me, I always look into the night sky anticipating Orion’s arrival this time of year. I first learned the constellation in college freshman astronomy and its appearance and October are linked forever in memory. Another seasonal herald is the seaside goldenrod blooming. Just when our sea oats begin to look a bit bedraggled, our dunes put on one more show before winter winds mow their grasses down. The bright yellow is cheery as the daylight begins to dwindle, another autumn sign. This year, the goldenrod’s peak blooming coincided with the annual monarch butterfly migration, which my prior year photographs confirmed happened later this year. The juxtaposition of the monarchs and goldenrod gave a unique opportunity to portray both and prompted a peaceful few minutes at the Nags Head Curlew Street beach access late last week.
Fall had barely officially begun before Hurricane Maria brushed the coast with high, picturesque surf. I photographed the afternoon the storm passed and got up early to photograph the residual wave sets in what turned out to be a clear golden sunrise the next morning. Beautiful.
Fall skies inevitably include cloud formations we don’t see in summer. Days are finally a bit cooler and less humid which often prompts more vibrant sunsets and sunrises. With a brand new puppy in the house and Pete not feeling well, I haven’t seen but one sunrise lately--sunsets are more my speed, these days. Lucky for me my schedule has put me in just the right place at the right time to photograph a few in October.
In some Native American plains tribal traditions, autumn is the season of the West, a time for introspection as we harvest the crops of spring seeds and ideas and let ourselves anticipate a little winter rest before another spring.
I have a good friend who likes to talk about “New Moon wishes.” The idea is that as the moon re-emerges into its roundness, so too can our dreams, plans and goals grow into their fullness. Fall is a good time to assess what is working well, what may need a course correction, and what new opportunities still await, even in this season. September’s New Moon, which set in the west as the sun was setting on the last day of summer, reminds me that every season of our lives as well as the year provides opportunities for growth if we are open to them.
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click for larger image | The last time I saw sea foam bubbles this vibrant was after a series of northeasters in the fall of 2011. |
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click for larger image | Golden here stands for Seaside Goldenrod, whose pollen is so heavy it sinks rather than causing us to sneeze like the goldenrod in Currituck's fields, and migrating Monarchs. |
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click for larger image | Wild skies over the Duck Waterfront Shops! This formation includes some mammatus clouds as well as what look to be the beginnings of lenticulars! |
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click for larger image | I left the Waterfront Shops and drove down to the regional beach access in Kitty Hawk, thinking these clouds would provide a beautiful splash of color over sea at sunset. |
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posted by eturek at 2:45 PM |
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