These were taken a while ago, but we still have a few maple leafs left on a few of the maple trees. It’s interesting how there is so much difference between trees in a grove. It’s my favorite time of year for enjoying maples: when the leafs are bright yellow/orange and the sun shines through them.
Walking in the woods in the autumn has a special feel to it. The trees are shedding leaves and needles (those that do) and nature feels like it is getting ready for a long nap.
Fort Worden is just north of downtown Port Townsend, Washington. I go there frequently to get some exercise and to enjoy the views. The big leaf maples are very colorful in the park this year. Other areas seem to have suffered from dry weather, but the park sits next to salt water and get moist weather more often. Below is detail.
I thought I would share one of the last of the images from our recent hike up the Dosewallips River Trail. The images above was taken with my iPhone 16 Pro Max. Note the lack of a ‘sun burst’ where the sun is peaking around the maple. (for comparison, see previous post https://ajjphotoblog.com/?p=15948)
Below, another view of the Dosewallips River Trail. We both enjoyed hiking this section of the trail where there were lots of dry leaves to kick and crunch. A joy not to have to rake all these! (in the past I spent one day each weekend working on clearing the lawn of leaves this time of year)
Here’s another comparison between a main trail: above see the Dosewallips trail where the forest is reclaiming the old road and below, where a spur trail runs down to a unofficial campsite along the river.
