Autumn will always be my favorite time of the year. It's a very sensual season. The cool, crisp air revitalizes my soul and imspires creativity. Sometimes, this energy is channeled into making fall deserts like "Pumpkin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies" or "Apple and Pumpkin Ring." The smell of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg fill the air. At other times, I'm inspired to walk out in the world and just revel in the beauty.
For Oakhurst Autumn, I concentrated on the details that makes this season so amazing. It's easy to take the change of seasons for granted. You can glance at the panoply of colors in the trees and not see that each individual leaf is in itself a work of art. Like the Phoenix, the leaves of the oak, maple, dogwood, and sweet gum go out in a blaze of fiery beauty before they crumble to ashes and are reborn in the spring.
Pictures taken at Manzanita Lake
The photographs for this theme were taken within about a 30 minute drive of Oakhurst, California from as far west as the town of Mariposa to the far east of the even smaller town of North Fork. I spent several gleeful hours at Manzanita Lake where the blackberries were still ripening and the water was golden with the mirror of the trees surrounding it.
Corey and I also went north just across the border of Yosemite National Park to the Pioneer Village and the historic hotel named Wawona. However, for the most part, I wanted to show with these pictures that you don't have to live near a national park or travel for miles to take photographs. You can find beauty in your own background.
Autumn in Oakhurst
Oakhurst, California is nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains just south of Yosemite National Park. We've made our home here from the time Corey and I got our first computer game jobs at Sierra-On Line. It's a beautiful area of oak and pine with granite boulders and rugged mountains surrounding the valley. The town is at the southern end of highway 49, which runs northward through the many small towns formed by the Gold Rush of the 1800s. The neighboring town, Coarsegold, still bears the name of the lure that first brought white settlers to this area.
"Mining Wheel"
"Rusting Away" - old mining equipment
Oakhurst Autumns aren't as showy as many other places. You won't see the panorama of yellow, reds, and oranges in our forests. The oak leaves at the Ranch tend to dry up and wither to brown. But unlike much of California that remains seasonless, you can feel, hear, and smell the call of fall. The nights grow chilly and there are clouds in the sky. The acorn woodpeckers chatter and peck holes in trunks and boards where they store away acorns. There is the aroma of freshly made pumpkin bread and woodsmoke from our fireplace. It might not be as dramatic a change of seasons as some, but it is a very welcome change from summer.
"Acorn Storage" - fencepost on the ranch
"Fall Garden" - my front yard
Hi, I'm Lori Ann Cole,
artist, writer, and game designer.
FAR Studios is my virtual art gallery. Here, I can share my unique visions with you.
"Gazania Burst"
The Oakhurst Autumn style represents the rich shades of fall on my favorite fabrics of velvet, silk and suede.
"Dancing Star"
I am finally learning to use Flash, and will be using more Flash effects as time goes on. As before, you will need to have Javascript enabled to see much of my art.
"Leaves from the Garden"
With this website and my images, I want to remind you all to open your minds and your hearts to the beauty that surrounds us all.
Flying Aardvark Ranch is located in the foothills south of Yosemite National Park. Its natural beauty affords a perfect environment to raise our mascot, the flying aardvark.
"Aarne the Aardvark"