Island Light: Leaves Turnin'
Someone has his winter coat on, do you?
Someone has his winter coat on, do you?
Popular spot to visit at Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary.
Popular spot to visit at Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary.
Model sailboats dwarfed by schooners behind in Vineyard Haven Harbor.
Model sailboats dwarfed by schooners behind in Vineyard Haven Harbor.
Bare boughs replacing fiery foliage at Whaling Church.
Bare boughs replacing fiery foliage at Whaling Church.
Fishing nets wound up at end of the day in Menemsha.
Fishing nets wound up at end of the day in Menemsha.
Canada geese forage at Arrowhead Farm in West Tisbury.
Canada geese forage at Arrowhead Farm in West Tisbury.
Anchors away.
Anchors away.
Room aplenty for guests at Bend in the Road Beach.
Room aplenty for guests at Bend in the Road Beach.
Weathered wooden groin with modern drawbridge on the way to Tisbury.
Weathered wooden groin with modern drawbridge on the way to Tisbury.
Foggy morning greets the day at Sunset Lake.
Foggy morning greets the day at Sunset Lake.
Autumnal colors at Tisbury Waterworks on Tashmoo.
Autumnal colors at Tisbury Waterworks on Tashmoo.
Chilly blue and gold over east Chop Lighthouse.
Chilly blue and gold over east Chop Lighthouse.
Almost full moon over Vineyard skies.
Almost full moon over Vineyard skies.
At this time of year, tree branches are arching across the street and their boughs are touching each other in friendly farewell. They have become a canopy of gold to walk under, and when their leaves tumble down onto the little roads on the Island, in place of their surfaces of sand and dirt, they suddenly are paved with gold.
Closer to the ground, sumac and huckleberry and poison ivy are, variously, purple, gold, yellow, ruby red or sometimes they are still green. In thickets, the bittersweet is beginning to burst into red and yellow flowerets.