A Wrap on Autumn 2024

November – a month of transition; moving from autumn toward winter, resetting our internal clocks to standard time, and shifting our focus toward the upcoming holiday season. As the years advance I find these transitions become more difficult. Shifting from daylight savings to standard time makes less sense now that I no longer drive to work in the morning, and the body seems to take longer to acclimate; by the time we get comfortable with the new daylight pattern it will be time to shift back. Growing up in Minnesota and the Dakotas I loved the snow and cold of winter; even driving to work on the icy roads of North Dakota in minus 30 degree temperatures I would forswear any desire to live in warmer climates. Now, as I reach for another sweater, thoughts are creeping in that perhaps migrating south for a few months might not be too bad. But then the beauty in the first snowfall of the year hits, the holiday decorations appear, and it seems not so hard to accept; but ask me again in February!

I went into November with two simple photography goals – get some autumn foliage images, and continue my quest to capture the full moon each month. Autumn colors in our part of Michigan seemed to run late this year. Color change in leaves is caused by reduced chlorophyll activity as less sunlight becomes available during late fall, enhanced during dry, sunny, and cool days. Unfortunately we’ve been on the verge of drought conditions and temperatures stayed very warm most of the fall. Then as conditions finally cooled down, the gloomy overcast skies moved in with what felt like constant high winds; causing the leaves to quickly drop. So the opportunity for good leaf color fell into a small window. I did manage to capture a few fall images for your enjoyment.

Lunar Images

The full moon rose on November 15th, and you can generally accept it as full the day before and after. Unfortunately as I’ve said, the weather turned overcast early in the month and never let up. In fact the cold and snow showers arrived before Thanksgiving day and they stuck around through this past weekend. Needless to say I was not able to get out to capture the full ‘Beaver Moon’ this year, but am hoping for better weather luck in December.

I’ve had people ask me on previous images where do the ‘Harvest Moon’ and ‘Hunter’s Moon’ names come from; let me try to explain. I find the ‘Old Farmers Almanac’ to be a great source of information regarding the full moon names used in North America. The names are generally derived from Native American, colonial, or European uses and helped to designate the passage of time throughout the year. The names used in the Almanac are english interpretations of the Native American words. I won’t burden you with all 12 months in this post, but will provide the interpretation if I do post a lunar picture.

With non cooperating weather this year, I did some digging into my archives for this image of the full ‘Beaver Moon’ captured in 2018. This moon represents a time of the year when beavers have stocked up supplies for the winter and are retreating into their snug lodges. During the fur trade days it was also a time for the trappers to set their line for the lush beaver pelts. Finding a location for a photo shoot to represent the beaver was proving difficult, but perhaps by next year.

Well that’s pretty much a wrap on the autumn of 2024. I’m excited to see where the winter photography takes me; warm would be nice but I do enjoy the snow! If you enjoyed this Journal entry, please drop me a comment below, feel free to share with your friends, and visit my website Terrance Alexander Photography.

Terrance Alexander