Round Robin: True Colors of Autumn - in Southern Arizona?

As I was saying this morning, for the Round Robin Challenge: All Natural Colors, I asked to see photos of natural materials, presented with colors as close to what our eyes see as possible. I was so exhausted after a very long day that I didn't post an entry last night at all, and this morning's entry was a rush job. But this afternoon I took my Dad for a 90-minute drive down to the Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon Preserve. I freely admit that half the point of the trip was to photograph autumn leaves in their natural colors!

Ramsey Canyon is southeast of Tucson near Sierra Vista, Arizona. It's on private land owned by the Nature Conservancy, at the end of a narrow paved road. You have to go through the gift shop and pay a $6 fee to hike the trail...

...but there is no charge for sitting on a bench behind the gift shop, watching the bird feeders and drinking in the beauty and the cooler mountain air.

 

I hadn't been there in about a quarter of a century, despite it being one of the top 15 birding spots in the entire country. Today I wasn't really focused on seeing their 15+ species of hummingbirds, their Elegant Trogans, their Chihuahua Leopard frogs or black bears. I didn't even bring binoculars. That's okay, because this isn't the season for most of the birds that frequent the canyon. The only one I even saw was a single wild turkey outside the preserve itself.

 

The photography was a little tricky. The late afternoon sun shone through the trees, making the scene either too dark or too light. Almost everything here has been edited on my computer to brighten colors and reduce glare.

Still, I think these are pretty close to what I saw!

Autumn leaves are few and far between in Tucson. We don't have the climate or the native species for it. I'm pretty sure even the oak tree species in Arizona don't change color. But when I Googled Autumn leaves Southern Arizona, I found pretty much what I expected to see. Driving into the mountains takes me to a cooler, more colorful climate! We're past the prime fall leaf season by at least two weeks, but I think the drive was worth it - even if my dad was bored and asking to leave about a minute after we arrived.

Please scroll down for my other RR entry of the day, and then check out the other Robins' entries!

Linking List
as of Saturday, November 16th, 7:27 MST

Freda - Posted!
Day One
http://fredamans.blogspot.ca

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Karen - two entries posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/mavarin


Karen