A favorite part of my backyard, where vintage lawn chairs edge a limestone pathway now strewn with leaves.
OF ALL THE SEASONS, autumn rates as my favorite in Minnesota.
My neighbor’s maple tree.
Crisp days. Cobalt skies. Colors changing.
The bees are busy this time of year, here working a black-eyed Susan, among the native wildflowers in my yard.
Sharp shadows and angled light.
Leaves upon that limestone path.
Earthy scents rising from fallen leaves and ripening crops.
A bloom in a patio pot.
Bursts of red and orange, mixed with shades of brown, that color the earth.
Hibiscus mahogany splendor, planted in two patio pots, has nearly reached the roof line of the garage.
Dappled light. Dancing leaves. Magical.
An abundance of produce—acorn squash baking, fresh tomatoes thrown into a pot of chili, the crunch of biting into a SweeTango apple from a local orchard.
A backyard campfire.
Prolific zinnias are still blooming.
I love this season.
There’s nothing prettier than an autumn leaf.
This autumn.
Another view of that stunning hibiscus mahogany splendor.
I do.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Wonderful photos, but I think if I had to choose a favourite it would be the first one with the chairs and the fallen leaves gathering around them. Perfect autumn image!
Thank you. I considered this a photographic challenge, to simply walk around my yard and photograph the meaning of autumn.
Beautiful pictures and post!
Thank you. Simply showcasing the beauty that exists, right here in my yard.
Don”t you just love zinnias? Their blooms last forever.
They are one of my favorite flowers. Prolific. Easy to grow. And old-fashioned.
Loving your captures – true essence of Fall indeed:) Happy Monday!
And now the weather is turning colder and greyer.
Love all your fall photo’s Audrey, especially the last one! Also love your vintage chairs they look so enticing 🙂
Thanks, Jackie. The vintage lawn chairs are actually more for looks than use.
We drove through Rochester Friday and Sunday on our way to Appleton. I thought of you.
Colors were beautiful driving through Rochester late Sunday afternoon.
Great photos! Love them.
Thank you.
Oh, these are wonderful shots that really capture the mood of this best of seasons in Minnesota. How unfair when we were kids that autumn equated with loss of fun and free time as we headed back to school; this really is a magical time of year. I’m sitting in my office typing this, listening to the rain, feeling cozy in my own after-dinner stupor (food stupor, mind you). Scrolling through these shots was the perfect thing to do.
Thank you, Kathleen. Twas a good thing I shot these scenes last week as now the weather is turning on us. I am so not ready for (imagine a whisper here) winter.
So lovely photos. I selected my favorite which is: “A bloom in a patio pot”. Its colors are terrific.
Thank you. Yes, I love those bursts of color in that bloom.
Beautiful! I need to get out to take more Fall photos! Thanks for posting yours! 🙂
The days of autumn are fleeting. So make haste. And thank you, Stacey.
Your pictures are beautiful and bring back so many memories I have from my childhood in northern Ohio. Here in Texas, fall is slowly drifting in and we have a few trees changing. Fall is indeed my favorite time of the year – simply beautiful!
Since I shot those images, the weather has really changed. We had our first killing frost several days ago and I now have dead, instead of blooming, flowers. The maple tree in our backyard is now littering the ground with a carpet of leaves. When the weather warms, I will have plenty of fall yard work to complete before the snow flies.