Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond, blazing extra bright in the westering sun. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. Even the white pines (Pinus strobus) are burnished by the late afternoon sunshine. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. The small pitch pines (Pinus rigida) at left have a brownish tinge, as they lose nearly half their needles in the fall. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. On the opposite bank, a small white birch (Betula papyrifera) stands in front of a beaver lodge about 1/3 of the way from the left-hand edge of the picture. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. On the opposite bank, a small white birch (Betula papyrifera) stands in front of a beaver lodge about 1/3 of the way from the left-hand edge of the picture. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. On the opposite bank, a small white birch (Betula papyrifera) stands in front of a beaver lodge about 1/3 of the way from the left-hand edge of the picture. In this picture, the browning of The pitch pines (Pinus rigida) at left is especially obvious. Unlike most conifers, pitch pines are strongly seasonal, losing nearly half their needles in the fall. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

A large fern adds its touch of golden brown to New England's famous fall foliage. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Fall foliage reflected in the Mill Pond. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

An American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) turns golden yellow among the red leaves of silver maple (Acer saccharinum) and the green oaks (Quercus sp.) and pines (Pinus strobus). Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Maples (Acer sp.) turn yellow and red, while the oaks (Quercus sp.) stay dark green for another week or two. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

A small stand of pitch pine (Pinus rigida) on the north shore of the Mill Pond, opposite my favorite sitting rock. The lone birch (Betula papyrifera) poking out of one spot near the left has nearly lost its leaves. Fall, Mine Falls Park

Looking across the narrow western neck of the Mill Pond, the fall foliage reflected in the still water. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Sapling oaks (Quercus sp.) and various herbs prepare for fall on the bank of the Nashua Canal, while the surface of the canal is littered with fallen leaves. Notice that in addition to the leaves of hardwoods, the litter includes many needles of pitch pine (Pinus rigida). Pitch pine is strongly seasonal, losing nearly half its needles in the fall. Fall, Mine Falls Park

Various shrubs and saplings in vibrant fall colors decorate the shore of the Mill Pond. Fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 45 Times.

A red-brown oak (Quercus sp.) forms a perfect backdrop for a yellow-leafed white birch (Betula papyrifera). Fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 110 Times.

A red-brown oak (Quercus sp.) forms a perfect backdrop for a yellow-leafed white birch (Betula papyrifera). Fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 124 Times.

A pair of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) cross the pond as the evening darkens the fall foliage. Fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 48 Times.

A maple seedling (Acer sp.) putting on fall colors. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. Even the white pines (Pinus strobus) are burnished by the late afternoon sunshine. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. The small pitch pines (Pinus rigida) at left have a brownish tinge, as they lose nearly half their needles in the fall. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. On the opposite bank, a small white birch (Betula papyrifera) stands in front of a beaver lodge about 1/3 of the way from the left-hand edge of the picture. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. On the opposite bank, a small white birch (Betula papyrifera) stands in front of a beaver lodge about 1/3 of the way from the left-hand edge of the picture. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Trees in fall colors reflected in the Mill Pond. On the opposite bank, a small white birch (Betula papyrifera) stands in front of a beaver lodge about 1/3 of the way from the left-hand edge of the picture. In this picture, the browning of The pitch pines (Pinus rigida) at left is especially obvious. Unlike most conifers, pitch pines are strongly seasonal, losing nearly half their needles in the fall. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

A large fern adds its touch of golden brown to New England's famous fall foliage. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

A bumblebee (Bombus sp.), torpid from the autumn chill, struggles to save herself from the Mill Pond, where she has fallen in. Fall, Mine Falls Park

A wet, bedraggled bumblebee (Bombus sp.), rescued from drowning in the Mill Pond, crawls through the leaf litter to find the entrance to her burrow. She just might survive hibernation to start her hive all over again in the spring. Fall, Mine Falls Park

A blanket of partridge berry (Mitchella repens) spread around an oak tree (Quercus sp.) and sprinkled with autumn leaves. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Partridge berry (Mitchella repens) and fallen oak leaves (Quercus sp.). Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Calico aster (Aster lateriflorus). Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Calico aster (Aster lateriflorus). Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Calico aster (Aster lateriflorus). Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Leaf of a fern turning yellow in autumn. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

A seedling maple (Acer sp.) in fall colors. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

The ground cedar clubmoss (Lycopodium complanatum) remains green all winter, like its namesake tree. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

The large compound leaves of smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) turn scarlet in fall, making this little tree stand out. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Blossom of a smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) setting seed. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in fall. The two structures that look like pointy cucumbers are the seed pods. They will soon split open, releasing hundreds of fluffy seeds. Fall, Mine Falls Park.

Calico aster (Aster lateriflorus). Early fall, Mine Falls Park.

Calico aster (Aster lateriflorus). Early fall, Mine Falls Park.

A small clump of bushes in the middle of the big meadow north of Crawford Notch. Early fall, White Mountain National Forest.

Looking north across the big meadow north of Crawford Notch. The forest beyond is a typical mix of green spruce and oak with blazing red beech, while most of the birches have already lost their leaves. In the meadow are wilted black-eyed Susans, lupines, and goldenrods holding their seeds until the winter winds scatter them. Early fall, White Mountain National Forest.

An unusual hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium). It is unusually tall, and an unusual color. Most of them turn a deep burgundy in late summer and early fall, but this one ranges from scarlet to orange. Even as these tattered leaves turn color and fall off, the plant is putting forth new leaves to catch the autumn sun after the forest canopy opens up. Early fall, Elephant Head Trail, Crawford Notch State Park.

A large bracket fungus of the family Polyporaceae on a rotten log, fall, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 141 Times.

A tiny seedling maple (Acer sp.) holds onto its fall colors amid the brown litter of earlier fallen leaves. The rhododendrons will remain green all winter. Fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 343 Times.

Oak leaf (Quercus sp.) on a water-smoothed glacial erratic. Fall, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 362 Times.

Mixed undergrowth on the sunlit northern bank of Bemis Brook above Arethusa Falls, including stiff aster (Aster linariifolius), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium), and numerous ferns and grasses, late summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 148 Times.

Bakeapple berries (Vaccinium macrocarpon). This is actually a wild cranberry, also called bear berry, and distinct from the bakeapple berry of Newfoundland (Rubus chamaemorus), also called cloud berry. But it tastes like a baked apple, complete with cinnamon. They grow in the bogs on the northern slope of Mount Jackson, and this was a banner year. Most years, I only find two or three ripe berries. Late summer, Presidential Range Downloaded 161 Times.

Nearly-bare branches of oak against the steely sky, late fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 289 Times.