For comparison, I tried to duplicate one or two (three, actually) of the shots I took last week.
On a smaller scale, poison ivy and Virginia creeper were bright against the heavy texture of tree stump bark.
At the end of the Scots Pine Alleé was a riot of color where young maples and fading ferns mixed.
Along the edge of the Little Bluestem Meadow was a great angle on the viburnum, nannyberry. Only the deep red of the leaf was obscured by the sky's reflection.
Over my shoulder, the sun was coming out on my route through the Scots Pine Alleé.
Farther back, blue skies were now over Gifford House.
But as I looked back from the bend into the Old Gravel Pit section, clouds were already inching their way back over the sky.
A mass of white snakeroot seed heads was striking against the leaves.
Even more striking was a mass of still blooming flowers of the same.
The sun came out again for a moment to light up the path before me.
A young striped maple stood out against the dull leaf litter.
An areal display of mushrooms presented the opportunity for countless unusual portraits.
It is prudent to look to the left and the right when crossing a road, here the road to the Fern Glen.
In the Fern Glen proper, witch hazel was out more than last week, but surprisingly it didn't smell as strong.
On the way out of the 'Glen, a bug - perhaps the invasive marmorated stink bug - was hiding in the curl of a leaf.
On the Cary Pines Trail, the sun again came through to make the background maples look like leaping flames.
The effect was perhaps more convincing from farther back.
Close up was just pretty. This was another spot with so much beauty on so many scales.
From the Appendix, I ran up the hill to where I may have left my hat. No hat, but another nice view of the Little Bluestem Meadow.
By the time I got to the back Old Hayfield, the sun was low enough to graze the bottom of the clouds.
Around the side, the bench was inviting but it was much later than I'd expected...
I only paused on the Sedge Meadow Trail for just one more photo to compare with last week: I had promised the boardwalk would soon be covered with leaves.
Do come for a walk this weekend... oh, and don't worry about the hat, thank you; it was still in the car...
