Last Wonderful Remnants of Autumn on Salem Common

The Last Remnants of Autumn Are Upon Us!

The afternoon light was perfect on Salem Common. Halloween had just finished and the colors were either arriving or just leaving. It was the 3rd of November and the maples and oaks are the predominant types of trees on the Common.

This allows for rich late color on the maples and it blends with the arriving color of the oaks. The oaks are never as showy as the maples, but as deep and rich in their own right with dark golds and subtle orange that can turn a reddish rust color. The different hues all come together in a beautiful range of colors.

On warm autumn afternoons, people come to Salem Common to enjoy the sun and stretch their legs by biking or walking the paths that crisscross the common. They know all too soon the sun will be a pale excuse for what it is today and the warmth of it will only be a memory.

So as we leave the common behind us the warmth of the afternoon stays with us like a cozy blanket, shielding us from the cold winds that are sure to soon follow our footsteps.

I look back along one of the footpaths and two men sit in the shade (maybe) talking about baseball and who might win the World Series. This year the Cubs are in the seventh game and one step from breaking their 108-year streak. (they did!)

We all know that they now have broken that losing streak and they have won the World Series. But when I took these images, the men on the bench could only talk about it, and remember back a few years ago when our Red Sox broke our own “Curse of the Bambino” in 2004. Lucky for us we only had to wait 86 years. 🙂