colors of autumn
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Meet Me in the Woods for #Leaf Peeping

Are you guilty of driving everywhere to just go leaf-peeping? I admit it, and I’m proud of it! Fortunately, here in Eastern Washington, I don’t have far to go to see Autumn’s splendor.

lake reflections

“Autumn is love poetry, each leaf a lyrical heartbeat.” ~ Angie Weiland-Crosby

The scenes along Lake Spokane and the Centennial Trail never fail to impress!

colors of autumn
Shadowed Dock on Centennial Trail

“Autumn. Time to dim the sunlight, cue the moody fog, & watch nature’s most charming story unfold.” ~ Angie Weiland-Crosby

autumn on the lake

We’re also experiencing the autumn splendor of the Western Larch trees, deciduous cousins to the evergreen trees. Their “leaves” are really feathery pine needles. Their needles change color to a brilliant gold and fall.

Close-up WEstern Larch needles

Suncrest Drive features a beautiful western larch tree near town.

golden larch
All signs point to the Western Larch Tree

Just a few miles northeast are idyllic autumn scenes.

golden autumn

“If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.” –Victoria Erickson

autumn snow
Snow and Autumn played well together in 2022

Last week, we experienced a significant amount of rain and wind overnight. The little aspens shown above are now over 20 feet tall. Through the curtained window was this shadow of their leaves that had blown against the windows and stuck!

leaf shadows

Sharing for Becky’s November Shadows, Dawn’s Festival of Leaves, Johnbo’s CellPic Sunday, and Lens-Artists: Looking back at Landscapes.

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Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently from mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link to a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

If you can’t join me for leaf-peeping, you can meet me for bloom-scrolling if it’s spring where you are!

white blossoms
Almond Blossoms

If you are participating in the photo challenge, I look forward to seeing how you interpret this week’s theme! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme. Join me next week as we explore the season’s rich brown and gray colors. Have a wonderful week!

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98 comments

  5. Terri,

    Fabulous fall pictures! The Aspen leaf on your window is very artsy and adds a nice touch to your post. We had a blast of snow yesterday with flurries in Knoxville, and 7.5 inches in our mountains. Helen and I got ahead of it by leaving early for our annual November trip to Edisto Beach, SC. We spent three nights in Cherokee, NC to witness the last of the color for this year (picture below). Have a great week and stay warm! Joe

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  16. I had no idea what leaf-pepping was, Terri. I’ve never heard it called that before, but I love it as much as I love that quote by Victoria Erickson. We are fortunate to live in parts of the world where we can experience four distinct seasons, rather than just two or one. However, I am envious that you’ve already had snowfall.

    Our Autumn colours have also been amazing this year, but sadly, the vast amounts of rain we are now getting are bringing down all the leaves. But it was all gorgeous while it lasted.

    Those larch trees are an amazing colour, but I also love the shadows of the leaves on the window. That’s an excellent capture and brought to mind a neighbour we once had who always complained when leaves stuck to her windows. She also complained when the spring bulbs across the road came up before the spring bulbs in her garden. There’s no pleasing some people.

    Have a wonderful autumnal week.

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    • Thanks so much, Hugh! We are due for snow any day, and lots of it this winter. I’m excited! Most of our leaves are being raked and blown now, but I sure enjoyed the lengthy, colorful weeks we had.

      I’m glad you liked the leaf shadows stuck to the windows, a first here! They can cling as long as they wish. We went larch peeping this past Saturday and the views were amazing. Today, however, is gray and dreary… waiting for snow…

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  18. What a beautiful display of colors, and quotes, Terri. Finally, we were blessed with a little color before the leaves fell. After last night’s heavy winds, the ground is covered with a gorgeous blanket of leaves.🍂🍁🧡

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  19. Hi Terri
    Here, we don’t have to go far to see the autumn colours. Leaf peeping starts already in our garden. Unfortunately, we haven’t had snow yet.
    Wishing you a happy week
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  24. The trees sure are magnificent in your area Terri and just as beautiful as the trees, are the reflections on the still water. I have to agree with this quote: ““If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.” These are my sentiments exactly. Autumn has always been my favorite season since I was a little girl, even though it is the prelude to Winter (and even though we got snow here today – sigh).

    I am not participating in the Sunday Stills Challenge this week as I wanted to do a post on Veterans Day since I participated in a virtual 5K called “Running to Honor” for military personnel returning with PTSD that often take their own lives. I also wanted to mention the 50th anniversary of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald tomorrow, so that is in today’s post and also some pics on Wednesday. I went to two parks this week for the last of the Fall splendor and next week, I will have leaf-peeping and more in my “brown” contribution.

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    • We had a banner fall season this year, Linda. Snow isn’t in the forecast just yet although our mountains got some last week. Its cold enough but dry. Still leaves on the trees and the western larches put on a good show yesterday too.
      I look forward to your posts. I’m honoring Veterans day with something for the Flower Hour.

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      • Our Fall was fabulous too Terri, so this cold snap and two snow events in one day was a real kick in the pants for sure. We’ve had a windchill in the teens all day and slick conditions – ugh. I was not in Winter mode mentally, nor with my Winter duds either. I kind of like to ease into Winter, a layer at a time. 🙂

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      • I like that, Linda, to ease unto our winter duds one layer at a time. 😉 I’ve had my winter gear out since Halloween. We’ve had some morning temps in the 20s but no white stuff yet. The prediction is Spokane will be the 7th snowiest city this winter. I’m ready.

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      • Terri, I took the bus for years to Downtown Detroit. I walked a block up the street and the bus stop was there, then the bus dropped me off in front of the building where I worked. So that was great, but the buses would break down sometimes, or in snowy weather, they were late. For the rest of my life, I have my collection of Winter gear, even snow pants which I would wear if it was freezing rain and I always kept an extra outfit at work in case of a sudden downpour or anything else. Beginning October 15th through April 15th, I wore a hat and gloves because in those days of more normal weather, it was usually cold by mid-October and we had snow sometimes in mid-April. So I’m prepared clothes-wise, not mindset-wise. 🙂

        When I got the chance to work from home in 2011 to 2024, I was all for it as my boss/I went out on our own and I then had to take two buses each way. I drove in nice weather or went with someone in the building, but our schedules didn’t mesh, so I took the bus. I don’t envy you for having all that snow, but we are supposed to have a lot of “precip” here in Michigan and we’ve been forewarned it could be rain, freezing rain or a lot of snow.

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  25. What a beautiful array of autumn in your neck of the woods. I enjoyed seeing the Larch trees. I have never seen one, let alone see them change colors.
    You live in a spectacular area.
    Thank you for sharing, my friend!

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    • It was on point this year, Nancy. I have so many pics!! Right after we moved here, my brother in law showed me pictures of a pine forest dappled in sunlight, while driving in Montana. Turns out they yellow was the larches! Crazy! Thank you, friend!

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  34. What a wonderfully vivid celebration of autumn! Your words and images truly capture the magic of the season—the golden hues, the reflections on the lake, and the gentle poetry of each falling leaf. I love how you’ve highlighted the unique beauty of the Western Larch, a tree that often goes unnoticed, yet shines brilliantly in its seasonal transformation. Reading your post feels like taking a serene walk along Lake Spokane and the Centennial Trail, soaking in nature’s most enchanting story. Thank you for sharing such a heartfelt and visually rich tribute to autumn!

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  35. Terri, you are so lucky to have beautiful landscapes so close to home That opening image alone is fantastic for starters. You got foliage and reflections in a beautiful landscape shot. The whole gallery is beautiful.

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