» fall
apple orchards, pumpkin patches, brilliant foilage, brisk temperatures, college sports, what is there not to like about fall in michigan? raking leaves? of course, but think about it, what's more tranquil than a crisp autumn day with leaves dive bombing from trees like kamikazes and then swirling around aimlessly in the wind like billy joel trying to drive a car...yes, it's beautiful...it's along the same lines as that plastic bag floating around in the wind in that movie american beauty only not quite as awe inspiring...i mean, that was deep.

early color above the huron river.

leaves in transition (click the picture to see the same shot 1 week later).

leaves at various stages of their brilliant death.

a tree that snapped in half.

one of them fancy maple trees that turns all red like.

hills of the arb, a steep trail down the valley, a "waterfall" (drainage into the river), and autumn leaves.

a maple leaf on a rock, and red oak leaves against yellow maple leaves.

delhi rapids.

trees and leaves.

color along the huron river.

leaves floating in the river, and a fern that caught some fallen leaves.

a swan below the river bank.

trees above the river, and maple leaves.

this blue heron wasn't that scared of me so i was able to watch him from about ten feet away as he plucked fish out of the river. the upper right picture shows him with a fish in his mouth and after he swallowed it, a wiggling bulge could be seen in his neck as the fish made it's way down to his stomach. some may think that this bird is beautiful while others may think it looks freaky, but i think we can all agree that this is cute.

» bird hills
bird hills is a nature area along the huron river valley.

maple leaves cover the forest floor.

huron river drive, and a creek bed that was covered with colorful leaves while barely trickling with water.

one of the many valleys that lead down to the huron river, and fallen leaves.

deep leaves.

fallen leaves on a fallen tree.

a leaf covered valley, translucent leaves above, and a maple tree.

a bright forest.

» around town
there are a lot of trees in ann arbor and when you are driving through the streets around town it often feels like you are in a leafy tunnel due to all the trees hanging overhead.

the view from the streets and the view from above.

the university of michigan law quad as viewed from the top of the business school.

the barton dam, and a river running through the nearby town of manchester.