Lead Shot - Crunchers

I took this while taking a walk in the White Mountains near Plymouth, NH. The leaves hadn't really started to turn yet, so I wasn't even looking for foliage shots. However, this gave me a chance to capture these really popping out against the dull ground and dead leaves. Nikon D40, 18-55mm lens, 1/80, f/5.6, ISO 800, adjusted slightly for contrast in Picasa.
-Greg Carlson

Como Lake

Late September in Northern Italy. Autumn came to quick to this region this year. Cold atmosphere is strong from the Alpine mountains. Villa Balbianello in Como Lake, Italy.
-Alikhan Kuljanov

Dingman's Falls

I took this photo just after the sun came up while camping at Dingman's Falls in the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania. I used a Sony DSC-N1.
-Cooper Faust

Surprisingly Classy Photoshop Filter

This fall in Colorado is unusual in that leaves remain on the trees after Halloween. Normally, November 1st is cold and dreary with nary a leaf of color in sight. This photo op came when I was walking down the driveway. With the sun illuminating the leaves from behind the trees, the shapes and colors, the interplay of light and dark intrigued me. Again, this was my trusty Canon Powershot A720 IS, set on auto. And once again, I played with the Topaz Labs filter for Photoshop, Simplify/Buzsim. I like how the filter treats the leaves and creates a near stained glass effect with branches and leaves.
-Sally Austin

Mantis

In sunny California, we really do not experience the four seasons like the east coast. Most of our trees still have their leaves intact and the colors do not really change until really late fall early winter. I am fortunate to some trees and shrub on my property that are experiencing some color change. The first photo is unprocessed with the exception of white balancing. I wanted to show the praying mantis' color contrasts with its surrounding leaves. The second photo has been tweaked with contrast, vibrancy and vignetting. I wanted to express our wonderful weather this leaf is experiencing by example with lens flare. Canon XSI - Sigma 28mm f/1.8, Aperture 3
-Marvin Goda

out Southern Lakes Yukon

Good news for Cross-Country Skiers! The Atlin Ski Club maintains approx. 15 km. of XC tracks. A map and description of these trails can be found at www.atlinskiclub.org . You'll find updates and current status of the trails, and you can  print a copy of the trail map.  Membership fees for Atlin Ski Club are $20yr for singles and $40yr for a family. See their website for more information.

Planning a trip to Yukon and Northern BC? Check out Southern Lakes Yukon  newly-updated for Spring 2011.

By helicopter over Atlin May 2010 - Lake ice is melting away from the shore.

New Atlin resident, Daniel Neuhaus, is a cartographer who moved from Switzerland this year. He has our undying gratitude for finding, brushing out, marking and documenting Trails Around Atlin

Break out the liquid Benadryl and unfurl those mosquito nets as summer rains bring pain in the form of bug bites.

Break out the liquid Benadryl and unfurl those mosquito nets as summer rains bring pain in the form of bug bites.

Arizona is blessed with a bevy of beautiful and bothersome bugs that buzz round our mountains and bumble through our backyards.

A particular quartet of our local insects, herein dubbed the “fearsome four,” can be especially agonizing – and even deadly – if you are unlucky enough to get bit.

Tarantula hawk (wasp)/Illustration Ryn Gargulinski

Tarantula hawks

Claim to fame: Definitely their size, which is about the same as a hummingbird. They are also incredibly beautiful.

Injury capacity: Their stings may not kill, but folks say they surely feel like they do. One researcher quoted by Desert USA described the pain as feeling like “an electric wand that hits you, inducing an immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one’s ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream.”

Fun facts: Although their bright, orange-red wings are the same color as many artificially flavored candies, not many predators find them tasty. Roadrunners are one of the few that bother eating these things. The wasps get their names from laying their eggs in and then consuming whole tarantulas. They are also known to eat fermented fruit, which makes them zigzag drunkenly through the air.

Another fun fact: TC.com blog Wry Heat had a fun feature on these big, beautiful bugs.

Flying ants aka "mandable man" bugs/Illustration Ryn Gargulinski

Flying ants

Claim to fame: Although their heads are supposedly small, their bites feel like they come from jaws about the size of Texas. Some circles have thusly nicknamed this insect “mandible man.”

Injury capacity: A bite from a flying “mandible man” ant feels similar to a 2-inch hatpin being jammed through your flesh. They especially enjoy biting your thigh if you’re sitting outside on the patio right before bed. And yes, I know about hatpin pain from experience.

Fun facts: Flying “mandible man” ants sound somewhat like castanets when you flick them against the wall. They are also easy to trap after they become woozy from hitting the wall. An upside-down spray paint cap works well or, if you’d rather watch them scurry in entrapment, use an overturned glass.

Kissing bug/Illustration Ryn Gargulinski

Kissing bugs

Claim to fame: The itty-bitty insects pack some painful “kisses” which are more like mini-vampire bites. And yes, they do suck your blood.

Injury capacity: The vampire kisses hurt, but the real danger comes from the infections they spread, like Chagas disease. According to a Feb. 10 Arizona Republic article:

Chagas disease is endemic in poor areas in Latin American countries, where an estimated 8 million to 11 million people are infected, according to the CDC. In recent years, immigrants infected with Chagas have come to the U.S., and in 2009, the CDC estimated at least 300,000 migrants carried the disease.

Great.

Fun facts: About 40 percent of kissing bugs collected by researchers in Tucson tested positive for Changas disease, the article said. Whee. The article did note, however, that we should not panic, just be aware.

Mosquito/Illustration Ryn Gargulinski

Mosquito

Claim to fame: Most annoying bug on Earth.

Injury capacity: Mosquito bites are known to leave nasty scars, especially if you learned as a kid to use your fingernails to make an X in them to stop the itching. These insects also carry diseases, like the potentially fatal West Nile virus, which already killed one in Maricopa Count this year, according to the Pima County Health Department. Eleven cases of West Nile have been confirmed in humans this year in Arizona but Pima County’s only case has been an infected chicken.

Fun facts: Mosquitoes will die soon after biting you – as long as you smash them with a sledgehammer. Otherwise they will simply buzz onward to the next victim. At least they often get confused around citronella candles. While the buggers are supposed to be repelled by the candles, some are instead attracted to them and end up falling into and drowning in 

Autumn is the most beautiful season in Boston

Once October rolls around, Boston days get shorter and the weather cooler. Summer is over and Bostonians start to prepare for the long, cold winter. October is a special month in Boston area. A bracing chill is in the air in autumn as the temperatures drop from the high 80's of late summer to mid to low 70's and 60's. Autumn brings sweater weather once again, but the skies are still a vibrant blue. Children and families start to get ready for Halloween parties,  trick or treating and the other fall holidays to come. Autumn is a time for slowing down and reflecting and enjoying the bounty of the harvest in Boston and throughout New England.

Though spring and summer are high points in the life of the city of Boston, in many ways, Autumn is the most beautiful season of all. The trees glisten with gold, red, yellow and oramge foliage. A true sight to see.Take a ride to the countrside outside of the city to witness the quaint charm of New Englland villages settling in for the winter. Take in the bright orange pumpkin fields, hayrides and the bounty of the harvest. This is Autumn at it's best in Boston and New England.

Leaf peeping in October in the Boston area

A favorite past time  in Autumn in Boston and New England is foliage viewing. The New England region is renowned for its gorgeous fall colors. Whether you take a drive to a farmstand in the Boston area or trek to New Hampshire, Vermont or Maine, "leaf peeping" is an experience to savor.

For more about autumn in Boston and New England 

How to find great driving routes this fall in Boston area

Enjoy fall foliage on Columbus Day weekend

Take a walking tour of spooky Salem, MA

Enjoy the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston and Cambridge, MA

For more about Boston weather 

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Autumn is the most beautiful season in Boston - Boston Day trips | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-boston/autumn-is-the-most-beautiful-season-boston#ixzz1C2XQfXNQ

The book features award winning recipes from the sisters themselves, and they have managed to pry and publish the family secrets of other winning recipes as well.

The book features award winning recipes from the sisters themselves, and they have managed to pry and publish the family secrets of other winning recipes as well.

All the recipes feature ingredients from “The Sun Parlour of Canada”; jams, jellies, and pickles of course, sweet corn fritters, skillet-baked Lake Erie buttered pickerel, pan-fried perch, smoked trout dip… Perhaps you want to serve this with a seven strata salad, or summer pea soup. Warm up with a watermelon martini and finish with strawberry shortcake ice cream. The recipes are straightforward and the writing is as refreshing as picnic table ice tea with basil.

If you are looking for a cookbook that captures the charm, tradition and essence of this country during what many consider the most beautiful season, you will find it on each and every page.

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If these books get you in a preserving mood be sure to set a few jars aside for a very special evening Ivy is hosting at the Drake on Sept. 27th. An exciting new food and wine website will be launching that night and a Preserves Swap will be on the agenda for the launch. It’s free, open to everyone and not to be missed. For more info go to www.ivyknight.com.

Kerry Knight is a starving writer who has been eating all his life. Growing up in a family with eight others, he learned to read devouring the collected works of Kate Aitkin and Mary Moore. He lives in Parkdale and regularly cooks for his wife Ivy and his three dogs, Poppy, Betty and Peabody. Follow Kerry Knight attwitter.com/keppsterr.