Studio Autumn

 We can count on the Raccoons here to get themselves into trouble!

Been a lot of activity around here...the critters especially!  Hasn't been a night recently we haven't been serenaded with the Coyotes in the valley, and the night time visitors (Raccoons) to the yard are getting into mischief  here and there.  During the day we are watching the old familiar birds of summer leave us and old familiar friends, such as the Blue Jays, are becoming more and more vocal around the yard.

 Georgie counted 15 Blue Jays in the yard this morning - it's a "party"!

(No, really - that's what a flock of Blue Jays is called...they can also be called a "riot"!)

It's been a busy time digging out from under the A.R.T. weekend too.  Still working on framing orders and commissioned work and watching the neighbors take out their crops - everyone is busy around here right now!

It's been a very warm fall here so far.  We have had a couple frosts but it gets right back up into the 80's and the air's full of all the biting/pesty insects you could ever shake a stick at!  Yesterday Georgie and I finally saw a few clouds in the sky (the past couple weeks have been clear) so we decided to take a Sunday afternoon drive down along the Glacial Trail Scenic Byway south of us, since we hadn't been along it since summer.  There's a temporary web site for the trail run through the Iowa Lakes RC&D at - http://www.iowalakesrcd.org/GlacialTrailScenicByway.htm if you're interested in where it's at...the DOT is putting together a final site that'll be finished sometime in the future.

The Iowa DOT (dept of transportation) has been working to revamp signage and revitalize the byways in the state.  This includes showcasing various places and events in the region and just the natural scenic aspects of the byway area as well.  I freelance throughout the year and last spring got a contract to shoot the landscapes and activities along this byway.

The autumn colors in the NW corner of the state here this fall are not as good as in years past.  Georgie and I found ourselves trying hard to find color compositions along the roads...you know things are not good when it becomes work to find fall photographs!  The reds, burgundies, and oranges are not present along the road ways here this year...the yellows are spotty in small numbers.  

Fall color in the trees of NW Iowa are sometimes very hit and miss...sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.  I think the best autumn color this year is in the prairies! Check out this past blog showing Indian grass and New England asters for striking colors - then imagine it "en masse"!  Very satisfying color out on the NW Iowa tallgrass prairies right now!

Hope you're enjoying it!