As the October days grow shorter, the familiar views around our quiet corners begin to shift in remarkable ways. It is easy to look past the things we see every single day, dismissing them as ordinary simply because they are familiar. This week, for Dawn’s Festival of Leaves prompt, I turned my lens toward a tree I watch through the seasons — the mature red maple right on my front lawn. While they are a common sight in our landscape, waiting for the perfect angle of the autumn sun changes everything. When the afternoon light catches the branches from behind, the everyday canopy transforms into something extraordinary.
Our Autumn Lantern
Our red maple stands by the quiet laneway,
A familiar form in the crisp autumn air,
Where summer’s deep green slowly softens away,
And leaves a red crown for the branches to wear.
To pass it by day, one might call it mundane,
A tree like a dozen that line this old street,
But waiting for light brings a sudden, clear gain,
Where shadow and sudden magnificence meet.
For when the low sun dips behind the brick wall,
The canopy kindles with luminous grace;
The commonest branches grow fiery and tall,
And stained-glass reflections illumine the space.
Each three-lobed leaf holds a translucent glow,
A backlit reminder of beauty close by;
The grandest of gifts are the details we know,
Lit up in their turn by the October sky.
Taking the time to slow down with a camera reminds me that beauty doesn’t always require a journey to a rare or exotic destination. Sometimes, it is simply a matter of standing in the right place at the right moment, watching the sun pierce through the veins of a single leaf. The transitions of autumn happen quickly, but catching that translucent, golden hour glow makes the seasonal shift feel like a quiet gift. Thank you for joining me today — may you find a bit of unexpected light in your own familiar corners this week.
Thank you to Dawn for creating and continuing this very beautiful prompt. Please take a minute to visit her post — the image she chose not only features her beautiful photography, but is also a quintessential autumn scene:
Festival of Leaves 2026 Week#5~ Old Brick House in Autumn
’Til next time, y’all…
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