Autumnal views -

I need to get a bit of practice before we go to Vraja to not get sloppy shots there... Here are a couple of views from the neighbourhood, taken on a recent walk with the camera.

First off, the autumnal path.

And some grassroot level shooting... it was a bit of a rainy day.

kamala-dala-jala jIvana Talamala...

Some interesting pine trees! There's a saying that in Vraja, if there's a crooked tree, it must be a tree under which Radha displayed her mAna. I don't know what hit these fellows.

Sunset.

And the never-ending stream of cars.

One of those rare pine trees here that doesn't stay green all through the winter.

No idea which berries these are, but I'm sure you could string fine garlands of them.

One of the local snails chewing off healthy bits of nettle.

Mushrooms all cuddled together to keep warm.

Some local geese. Actually, I think they call these the Canadian geese. Some of the birds here fly over to India for the winter. Who knows, I might bump into this fellow at Govardhan.

Reflections of reality.

And finally, the bridge that leads you over nothing.

Here's some fall photos taken in Oct 2003 in the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts, USA. This reservoir is the main water supply for Boston & its suburbs. Its located in the middle of the state, a stones throw from my house.

Another one

Another...

To create the Quabbin, several towns were 'relocated', and as a result, cellar holes (abandoned foundations) are all over the place.. there is a melancholy feel when walking amongst them sometimes... these kind of gravestones for houses.

There are also stone walls, slowly falling apart, over the entire area. (For those who don't know, here in New England, due to the rocky soil, farmers would rim their land with low - 2 ft high - walls created with stones pulled from the soil)

Here's one in a real state of disrepair...

Last one