SPLENDOURS OF FALL : USA : PART 2

 

We had planned to visit Ferrum in Virginia in the first fortnight of October as my past experience indicated that the Fall Colours would be at their glorious best by around the 10th. Much to our disappointment, however, there was hardly any change in foliage colours  and the trees remained more green than any other even on the 15th. So we chose to extend our stay in Ferrum till the 24th and continue to enjoy the warm hospitality of our gracious hosts – Supriya and Rathin Basu. We would now leave for Chicago on the 25th.

Fortunately, the leaves started to change colours faster soon and thereafter we were able to witness some magnificent display of Autumn Colours on trees all around. The weekend of 17/18 October turned out to be a wonderful reward for our patience as the Blue Ridge Parkway, in general, and the Mabry Mill area, in particular, put on a splendid show of a riot of colours, although it was still not at the peak of Colour Spectacle!

Many of the photos of the fall colours witnessed in Virginia locations and in earlier places have been posted in the Part 1 of this write-up and I am greatly indebted to all those who made it a point to see/read my earlier efforts and come out with their accolades and encouragement.

Once in Lombard, Illinois – a suburb of Chicago, we chose to visit the Morton Arboretum. Essentially a botanical garden of huge proportions – covering 1700 acres – Morton Arboretum is always a delight for all nature lovers all throughout the year. Located in Lisle, hardly 30 minutes away from Downtown Chicago, it boasts of trees, plants and shrubs from across the world covering all the Continents. The Arboretum is particularly special in Fall, turning yellow, gold, orange, pink, red and several other dazzling colours. We were a few days late from the peak colour days and strong winds days earlier had taken a heavy toll on the trees – many standing tall with bare trunks and barer branches! In fact, when I called to check the status of the colours at the Arboretum, the lady at the other end of the phone very politely advised that we were just a few days off the peak and lately the strong winds –  as it is Chicago is nicknamed the Windy City – have shorn many trees of their foliage. She insisted, however, that it was still very colourful at the Arboretum and we should not miss an opportunity to visit it.

We chose to visit on 29 October – a Wednesday on which Seniors were entitled to a sizeable discount on the admission fees. Wednesday, however, had turned pretty cloudy and rather gloomy after a series of bright, sunny days. I began the day on a disappointed note but the cloudy sky turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Whichever area within the Arboretum we visited, the foliage displayed a variety of uniformly very intense colours and I had an extremely satisfying day photographing the Fall Colours at the Arboretum. Perhaps on a sunny day the colours would be more dazzling but on this day thanks to the cloudy conditions the colours were uniform and very intense.  Plus I did not have to grapple with the “against-the-sun / into-the sun” problems which made life definitely easier!

The Arboretum has distinct areas where certain trees dominate. For example, in a large area only Oaks dominated while in another Maples outnumbered any other trees by far. But But So we would have large tracts only yellow-orange, gold, red and redder of the Maples while the rusts of the tall Oaks dominated another large tract. Many of the trees – evergreens and others – were still green thus lending a delectable contrast in the overall spectacle of colours.

In Lombard, the Chicago suburb we stayed in, the roads were lined on both sides with oaks, maples, dogwood and other trees that showed off foliage in various stages of Autumnal colours. 

What was more interesting and perhaps intriguing at times, were the weird displays on house-fronts decorated as a part of the Thanksgiving festivities, not only with huge pumpkins / Jack-o-Lanterns but also with skeletons, ghostly figures, large cobwebs and the like! Thanksgiving was in the past associated with magical, supernatural pagan rites – the weird and unusual looking decorations in front of many houses were perhaps an indication of that.

From the Chicago area we travelled to Baltimore, Maryland on 1 November. It was just after the Thanksgiving celebrations and many door-fronts displayed Jack-o-Lanterns, skeletons and other figures associated with Thanksgiving. In Baltimore the Fall colours were still way before peak but only a few days later, on our visit to the nearby Patterson Park we were treated to a riot of colours on the numerous Oak, Maple, Dogwood and other trees. 

We then travelled to Florida for a few days to visit the Everglades National Park. When we returned the trees in Baltimore were showing off peak fall colours of various hues although much of the leaves had been blown away in the strong winds.

Finally our nearly 2 ½ months visit to the USA had come to an end. We moved on to Washington DC on 16 November from where we would be headed home – but only after taking in a couple of days of great museum-hopping.  On the way from Baltimore to Washington DC, the distance was lined up with trees displaying spectacular fall foliage. The hour long drive was as much beautiful as it was peaceful - quiet, fast and almost totally free of all traffic on a chilly Sunday morning.

I have posted a set of photos taken in the Lombard area of houses flaunting weird Thanksgiving decorations, the riot of colours witnessed at the Morton Arboretum and of  the fall foliage as also the Thanksgiving decorations in Baltimore.

I shall be glad to receive critical feedback from my friends on Facebook.