In my opinion, there’s no better way to celebrate and appreciate the wonder of the fall season than to be out in nature.
In Austin, Texas, there are often whole autumn seasons that are rather colorless. We don’t have a lot of the types of trees that change color in a bold way. Add to that the fact that many of our summers are too dry to offer the right conditions for great color change in the ones that can.
But we are fortunate to be only a few hours from Lost Maples State Natural Area, where there is a combination of steep limestone canyons, springs, plateau grasslands, wooded slopes and clear streams. It features a large, isolated stand of uncommon Uvalde bigtooth maple, whose fall foliage can be spectacular.
Each fall I track the fall foliage reports offered on the park’s website, and Matt and I try to make the trip (thought it doesn’t always happen, as it is about three hours’ drive). The photos on this layout are from November 2013. It was a perfect day to go on the strenuous five-mile hike to see the colors and take photos. What a great way to get out of town and revel in the beauty of nature!
Product/technique notes
The background paper is from the Fancy Pants “Happy-Go-Lucky” collection, and the other patterns are from October Afternoon’s “Apple Cider.” I embellished with stickers from Echo Park’s “Reflections Fall” and “Fall Fever” collections and added some hand stitching to bring out the turquoise in the patterns.
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