Photo Blogging Challenge (October 2013): Fall

Well, I guess I'm getting a little better this month as this represents my fourth post of the month.  Double last month's posts, so I'll just have to give myself a pat on the back for that and hope that I can do better next month.

This month, PJ proposed the monthly challenge of Fall, so here are my entries for the theme, all taken in October.

1.  Fall Flowers

My neighbor down the street has an incredible front yard garden.  He grows all sorts of seasonal fruits and vegetables throughout the year.  Every year around this time, these flowers show up, so I call them Fall Flowers.  I have no idea what kind of flowers they are and every time I'm near his house, he's never out so I can ask him what kind these are.  I've been fortunate enough to photograph these a number of years in a row.  Last year, I got a shot that reminded me of something out of Alice in Wonderland.  This shot actually reminds me a little bit of it as well.

2.   Lucy

Lucy, or the lack of Lucky is a harbinger of fall.  I've featured Lucy before in this blog as well in photos, but this one definitely represents fall.  Lucy is a California Desert Tortoise, one that I've had a permit for ever since I got her over 10 years ago.  I can't release her back into the wild, mainly because tortoises that are in the wild tend to have respiratory ailments that they could pass on to the wild species.  

Lucy lives in our back yard and usually is out in the early spring, summertime and early fall, but right around this time she disappears into her burrow for good and we'll not see her again until sometime next March when it warms up for good.  I saw her a couple of day after I took this shot, but I'm pretty sure she's underground for good, hibernating until spring comes.

3.  The lone leaf

The next two shots are a couple that probably represent a traditional fall shot.  I found this leaf lying on these parkway rocks and like the way it looked, with the contrast of mostly grey rocks and bright yellow color of the leaf.

For the most part, our fall actually lasts a long time in Southern California.  We don't really get that cold, cold snap of air that most trees need to drop their leaves.  I have deciduous trees in my side yard and are still quite green and will be green for several more weeks. 

While we wait for some brief moments of color, further north, the leaves have all dropped and snow is starting to fall.  This leaf just tells us that it's getting a little cooler here.

4.  The first storm

Here's another traditional "fall" type shot of colored leaves.  I did not take this particularly for the leaves, but more for the storm that passed through earlier this week.  The nice thing about fall here is we can have just about any kind of temperatures during the week and it will all seem perfectly normal.  Earlier this week, when this storm went through, the high was a very crisp 56 degrees.  I can all hear the snorts of derision over that, especially for those who live in northern climes.  

Anyway, this storm that moved through our area, dropped temperatures significantly, as it had been in the 80s the week before.  It dropped some much needed rain and we had a light dusting of snow on the mountains at the higher elevations.  This is what our weather is like in the fall.  Mild, with an occasional cold front storm that will move through the area.

5.  Family Fall Festival

Last night, our school held its annual Family Fall Festival.  This year, the various clubs on campus were also invited to participate.  I advise the Photo Club on our campus, so we had a table set up where we could give information out to parents and students who were possibly interested in our club.  There was a gaming truck out in the front of the school.  Food and popcorn was being sold.

This year, the theme was at the movies and each club decided to represent a different movie.  Members from various clubs dressed up as characters from Grease, Despicable Me, Sandlot, and others.  The photo club took this theme a different way and decided they wanted to be paparazzi at a movie premiere.  One of my students took over 140 shots on her camera and I counted at least 7 or 8 other students all with their cameras having a good time being paparazzi. 

Many costumes were seen last night and I particularly liked these outfits worn by a couple of students.  The Cat in the Hat would have been so proud.

Well, there's my entries for this month.  Please head on over to PJ's blog to see other blogger's interpretations of fall.