Seasonal colour

The days are getting shorter, and it has been dark and rainy lately, so when it stopped raining recently I went out looking for colour. Here is what I found:

Not sure what this bush is but the leaves are spectacular this time of year.

Crab apples I think ...

Again, not sure what this is, but I loved the blue sky in the background, a rarity this time of year.

 Hydrangea turned deep red-purple:

Again I am not sure what this is but it adds a splash of colour.

Holly

A beautiful splash of colour in our neighbours garden:

Red Maple, the last leaves are still clinging to the tree and here are catching the late afternoon light.

A friend showed me a large patch of mushrooms growing in her neighbourhood. I took these pictures on my phone.

This mushroom is found in fairly large groupings. There were about a hundred in the area where I photographed these.

 Amanita muscaria, is a stunningly coloured mushroom; it is generally considered poisonous, but is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia and North America after parboiling and deaths from eating it are rare.

Amanita muscaria is noted for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. 

They also appear to be very strong: able to supporting a car in this picture.

Magic mushrooms indeed, I think I saw a fairy or two peeking out from between the mushrooms, but they are camera shy, so you will just have to use your imagination.

 

The last patches of colour are birds. This hummingbird (Anna's) was swooping at me and scolding me for being too close to the feeder in my back yard. He should have figured out by now that it is me that fills that feeder.

There are a lot of birds at the feeders now including Towhees, with their bright sides and eyes, but they have been too quick for me to get a good picture, so I have included this picture I took in the summer instead.

I have a picture in the current exhibit at the Federation of Canadian Artists' Gallery on Granville Island until November 25, 2012. Here is the link to the exhibit.

The bright colours, especially the reds and greens to me are a reminder that Christmas is not too far away. I have been working on my card stocks for the two Christmas Markets that I will be at, the first is this weekend (November 18) and then two weeks after that (December 2). Both are at Delbrook Community Centre, here are the days and times (I am in the gym both times, table on the right as you enter):

2012 DELBROOK CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIR AND MARKET
Saturday November 17th 10am-4pm
Sunday November 18th 10am-4pm
Saturday December 1st 10am-4pm
Sunday December 2nd 10am-4pm

Anyone who is thinking ahead to Christmas will find some new cards and some old favorites on my website right now too.

Here are the new ones:

"Christmas Cactus"

"Holly Time"

And here is another new card and an old favorite:

"Nutcracker Sweets"

"Three Wise Crackers"

There is a special offer too, get one free card when you buy four cards, follow these links:

New items and specials and my full selection of Christmas cards in Greeting and Celebration Cards.

Well that's it for this week, hope you have enjoyed my look at colour.

Thank you for dropping by, Happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next time ............