Autumn Red!

After I lamented just yesterday that fall colors are not as they used to be, I came across these intensely red leaves. Imperfect as they are, they are quite glorious, but it was a very small tree and in fact this sort of brilliant foliage still seems rare.

We were on the Rail Trail, in Amherst MA just off Station Road, where we often go birding. There were relatively few birds--many blue jays (I've never seen so many flying high overhead), lots of mallards on the marshy water, as well as a gaggle of perhaps two dozen Canada geese. The best bird was a close downy woodpecker, hopping from reed to reed pecking away--not clear whether he wanted the fiber or insects hidden in it.

It was a glorious Indian Summer afternoon--almost too warm.