It is now is one of my favorite times of the year because trees, such as these Oregon white oaks, are busy losing their leaves.
I dig the forms of the bare branches and I like to paint their silhouettes against gray skies, capturing variation within and among species.
The fallen leaves are impressive as well. These huge black cottonwood leaves are held near the dog's nose for scale.
Andie enjoys sniffing and running through the newly fallen litter.
Now that many trees have lost their leaves, I have been relocating nests from this summer, such as this robin nest,
an American goldfinch nest,
and this cedar waxwing nest I helped build.
At Dawson Creek, I spotted another nest high in an aspen.
Upon closer inspection, it is an old wasp or hornet nest that probably would have terrified park-goers had the leaves not hidden it while it was active.
