Lens-Artists Challenge #368—Looking Back to# 106: Autumn

Autumn is this weeks Lens-Artists ‘Looking Back’ Challenge, set by John. John’s original challenge post is here. In July 2020, the team launched a series called “Seasons.” Patti facilitated the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #106: Autumn here.

Autumn, fall, is a warm-colored season with cool temperatures, bringing a beautiful array of reds, oranges, and yellows as the leaves turn. The woods are full with edible mushrooms to pick and the more poisonous to photograph. It’s a time when nature begins to rest, preparing for the winter months ahead, and people also find themselves slowing down.. Slowly but surely, we are cozying inside our homes, wrapped in soft blankets while savoring warm drinks and apple pie. This season encourages us to stay inside, lighting the candles and fireplaces that create a warm, inviting atmosphere.

The crisp air outside calls for strolls among the falling leaves, reminding us to appreciate the beauty of change.

To us, falling leaves and autumn symbolize the closing of the summer season; at our summer house, this transition means not only raking leaves but, in recent times, using a lawnmower to moan them into little bits and leaving them as nutrients for the earth to enrich the soil for the next year. My husband took on the ambitious task this summer of clearing so many trees that one entire corner of the yard , now has an entirely new look, revealing hidden patches of sunlight that we hadn’t seen in years, the wood area of our yard needed cutting and trimming of the trees, which has unfortunately left us with mounds of branches scattered around the property. As the days grow colder and the ground becomes wet, the branches are gathered and prepared for a controlled burn to take care of the debris; it took a whole day to accomplish this, but the effort was worth leaving behind a cleared space that feels refreshing and revitalized for the upcoming seasons. A days work and in the end you are left with area with white ash.

Big thanks to John for giving us a nudge to share our Autumn vibes We’d love for you to share your favorite autumn photos too. Just link to John’s original post here and don’t forget to use the Lens-Artists Tag so we can check out your take on the theme!

Last week, our guest host, Joanna Mason, inspired us with the theme “Everyone Should See This,” resulting in a plethora of unique images in response. Thank you Joanna! Next week, Ann-Christine will be hosting the Lens-Artists Challenge, so make sure to follow her blog here to catch the challenge she will announce on Saturday, October 11, at 12:00 pm. Eastern Time.

For more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge, click here.

Autumn leaves 🍁

autumn 🍂

Ruska in Finland: A Stunning Display of Autumn Colors

This is ruska. (n the Finnish language, this stunning phenomenon that paints northern landscapes in deep and soft tones is called ‘ruska’.

What is ruska?

Ruska comes from the Sami word “ruškat”, and close to the Finnish word ruskea which means brown. This refers to the time of the year when the spectacular natural phenomena of the autumn foliage happen, or when leaves change colors and the trees get ready for winter.

Puuruska

There are two different types of ruska; puuruska and maaruska. In Finnish language, puu means tree, therefore puuruska refers to the leaves of the trees changing to different colors. Maa means land, ground, or soil; so maaruska, when translated to English, means bushes and plants of the ground changing their colors. The maaruska is especially beautiful to see in blueberry bushes at the forest. The colors are very bright and intense, creating the perfect spot for that perfect shot, or most of the time, simply an immeasurable and breathtaking view that a photo can’t even justify.

river Salajoki

Typically, ruska starts in the north of Finland in early September and gradually moves southward. By late September to early October, the southern parts of the country, including Helsinki, will be in the full throes of this colorful season.

Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland, offers some of the most stunning ruska views. The fells and vast wilderness areas, interspersed with crystal-clear lakes and rivers, provide a perfect backdrop for the red and gold leaves. 


Reflections

I took these last weekend, and since then, this week the colors have intensified spectacularly. Hopefully, the rain and winds of the autumn storm pass swiftly, allowing the beauty of nature to remain mainly undisturbed. I hope for a chance to photograph the stunning fall leaves again in the coming days, capturing the fleeting beauty of the season.

Embracing Autumn: Nature’s Changing Colors

Last weekend I was so happy by a beautiful weather; the sun shone brightly, the skies were a stunning shade of blue, and the air was neither cold nor warm—comfortable is maybe the word to use, especially if you are properly dressed for the season. The best of autumn colors was not yet totally visible, but the enchanting season of changing colors was right at our doorstep, whispering promises of vibrant reds, golds, and copper hues that would soon adorn the trees. As I took in the view, I pulled out my camera and snapped some photos from a nearby gravel road, capturing the landscape where nature seemed to pause in anticipation before the full display of autumn arrived. The gentle rustling of leaves and the very recognizable noise from the gathering Canadian geese created a loud backdrop, the sound so seasonal as can be.

Gravel road in Ruuhijärvi, Finland

Three ways to look at this path

Since I do post editing on my art, and my photos, I also do several variations of them, so this is great challenge for me to participate in LAPC #220 One Subject Three Ways. These are very similar, but slightly different –by zooming in on the details or stepping back for a wider view. Sorry, there is four images and a header. 🙂

End of the path

Summer season ended, we closed our summer house for winter on this beautiful October day. The autumn colors are so lovely.

Lower view of the path
and lower you go still keep the focus in the front
Place the focus to the end of the path, and you get a different mood.

Cabin in woods

I think the topic says it all. Well, I could mention the obvious, surrounded by beautiful fall colors That’s all folks!

Sunny Sunday 3

I have had luck with sunny Sundays, two in a row. I went for a drive searching to find Ruska ( one word in finish language to describe the process of nature turning to the beautiful colors of autumn)

Here few more photos from that day.

I found some lovely spots. I will share some now and some other posts as usual I have lots of shots and I like to share 🙂 Hope you like them.

This colorful time passes so quickly as the leaves fall and sooner than we want to be, we are already surviving November. I have several years been doing that here on my blog with fellow bloggers.

Sunny Sunday 2

I have had luck with sunny Sundays, two in a row. I went for a drive searching to find Ruska ( one word in finish language to describe the process of nature turning to the beautiful colors of autumn)

I found some lovely spots. I will share some now and some other posts as usual I have lots of shots and I like to share 🙂 Hope you like them.

This colorful time passes so quickly as the leaves fall and sooner than we want to be, we are already surviving November. I have several years been doing that here on my blog with fellow bloggers.

Rainbow colors

I had to get out of the house, it felt like the walls are falling on top of me. Covid has so messed up our lives, so many restrictions to what, where and when you can do it. So I have mainly stayed at home as the weather has not been the greatest the past weeks. Now as it is already dark a 5 PM well … need I say more.

Well anyways I got out of the house and we even got few moments of sunshine today and it was warm at this time of the year 14C. I took the car and went for a drive. My first stop was at lake Syväjärvi as I noticed a nice rainbow. What I saw on the front of the rainbow you can see in the next post, stay tuned 🙂

Rainbow in October

At the lake

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.

~Jim Bishop

The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking…

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. 

Now Autumn’s fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt.

~William Allingham

Winding road

The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I’ve seen that road before
It always leads me herecountry-roads-in-fall-6

my favorite country road

Autumn at ruuhijärvi-05503

Autumn leaves in their glory

Morning in Vols

Before my sculpture session yesterday, I took a walk through the lovely yellow-green colored lanes at Vols, The morning was nice and crisp, with sunshine. My “studio” is behind the trees, the big yellow building.

Sunday Stills, the next challenge: Trees/ Fall Colours?

It was a beautiful October weekend here in Finland, the autumn colors  – so bright and beautiful.

Sunday Stills, the next challenge: Trees/ Fall Colours?

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Sunday Stills, the next challenge: Landscapes

Linlo 2 4-DSC02043 Linlo 1 Linlo 5-linlo Nastola SONY DSC ruuhijärvi SONY DSC

These photos are showcasing Finland – southern Finland to be precise – Kirkkonummi and Nastola. Lakes and woods, and sea!

That what is close to me, fields. Enjoy!

 more at: Sunday Stills, the next challenge: Landscapes

Värikollaasi 146

autumn leaves ruska barrelss with photos

More of these colors at: Värikollaasi 146

Kollaasinappi