Forest fireworks

Maggie302, on November 2, 2007, said:

Great shot, Ryan!! Do you live in Missouri?

Borbély Tamás, on November 2, 2007, said:

Very, very nice perspective and colours, Ryan !Best regards, Tamás

Ryan Calhoun, on November 2, 2007, said:

Thanks Maggie and Tamás!

Yes, Maggie, I live in Missouri, just outside St. Louis County, south of Eureka. Most of my photos come from the surrounding area.

Greetings, Ryan

♫ Swissmay, on November 2, 2007, said:

That's great and very special, Ryan! I like the diagonal line and the wonderful hide of leaves. The bark is great as well. Do you know, what tree it is?

Greetings, May

Ryan Calhoun, on November 2, 2007, said:

Thanks May! The colored leaves are maple. It looks like there are two maple trees in full color. The long trunk is a shagbark hickory (appropriately named), which is very high and has a narrow crown of green above the maple leaves.

Ryan

Maggie302, on November 2, 2007, said:

Ryan, I am not to far from you, I am in Manchester. Sunday we are making a ride to St, Gen.. hope the trees are in peak! As always all your pictures are fantastic!

♫ Swissmay, on November 2, 2007, said:

Thanks, Ryan! Very interesting! I looked up Hickory and found that it only exists in North America and East Asia. But that fossiles of it were found in Europa.

Good night! We have winter time, it's a quarter past one.

Greetings, May

Ryan Calhoun, on November 2, 2007, said:

Thanks Maggie! I think you will be in luck. I went down that way last week, and there was still quite a lot of green, more than up here, with a few pockets of color. Since then, we had a freeze, and that should kick the trees into fall mode a little quicker.

May, we switch to standard time tomorrow night, and it will be dark all the time. Daylight savings was extended for us for the first time this year, and it's been a real treat to have extra light at the end of days that used to always be dark. But now it's finally time to go back.

Greetings, Ryan

Brandon_Belew, on November 2, 2007, said:

I really like the color and texture of this shot Ryan. The bark of the hickory tree is great, really adds a tactile dimension to the shot. The leaves are a real explosion of color as your title suggests!

Ryan Calhoun, on November 2, 2007, said:

Thanks Brandon. And speaking of maple syrup...

I was a steakhouse cook in my pre-college days. We used a gas grill which had bins of hickory wood underneath the burners. It was fresh cut wood, in chunks that I had to soak for 36 hours prior to putting them in the grill to keep them from catching fire. The hickory smoke was wonderful, both the smell and the flavor it gave to the meat. Hickory wood makes the best campfires too.

So, quite inadvertently, this photo includes my two favorite not-fruit tree flavors. :D

Marilyn Whiteley, on November 2, 2007, said:

Beautiful shot, Ryan. I recognized the tree trunk even though it didn't seem to go with the leaves, so I was happy to read your comment. When I was a girl, there was a shagbark hickory on the vacant lot next door and another on our back lot. On year we gathered the nuts and put the pails in our garage--and frequently left the garage door open, inadvertently making it easy for the squirrels!

Ryan Calhoun, on November 2, 2007, said:

Thanks Marilyn. I once took a nut away from a squirrel. At my old apartment, I surprised him at the bottom of the steps, and he ran up the steps to get away. When he saw I was coming up the steps, he turned left along the balcony past my door. When he saw I turned left also and realized he was cornered, he panicked, dropped the nut, and jumped up to the railing, and to a tree to escape. (whew) I kept the nut, but it was early in the summer, so I'm sure he was easily able to replace it. :D

I think the hickories give nuts similar to walnuts. We have such a mix of different trees and nuts out here that it's hard to keep them all straight.

Dub, on November 3, 2007, said:

I like the tittle of your pics and of course your pic too !!!! Grettings from France where we have also a splendid autumn ! Eric

eme jota, on November 3, 2007, said:

Yes I agree with Eric...You choose a very good tittle for this fantastic picture. ;D Greetings from Spain

Ryan Calhoun, on November 3, 2007, said:

Thank you Eric and Eme! This very bright color was alone among a lot of green, and it looked like an explosion. Greetings to you both from the US.

S_Mori, on November 5, 2007, said:

Beautiful! I took a photo similar to this angle 8 days ago.

Yank in Dixie, on November 8, 2007, said:

Lovely shot Ryan! Enjoyed all the comments about the hickory! Bruce

Ryan Calhoun, on November 8, 2007, said:

Thanks Bruce! I will tell the hickory you said hello! Ryan