Beneath a deep blue October sky with streaky white clouds, we are standing beside a large marsh surrounded a small, placid pool of water covered with lily pads. The water grasses and other aquatic plants of the marsh have mostly turned a deep golden brown. A large swath are sporting bright white blossoms, and several taller shrubs scattered throughout are decked out in vibrant red foliage. Tall, stately pines, hemlocks and hardwoods border the far side of the wetlands, the latter with past peak foliage in rust, golden brown and brick red.

Beneath a deep blue October sky with streaky white clouds, we are standing beside a large marsh surrounded a small, placid pool of water covered with lily pads. The water grasses and other aquatic plants of the marsh have mostly turned a deep golden brown. A large swath are sporting bright white blossoms, and several taller shrubs scattered throughout are decked out in vibrant red foliage. Tall, stately pines, hemlocks and hardwoods border the far side of the wetlands, the latter with past peak foliage in rust, golden brown and brick red.

A photo of a marsh surrounded by forests of leafless trees. The sky is cloudy.

A photo of a marsh surrounded by forests of leafless trees. The sky is cloudy.

We are standing in a marshy area along the shore of a beaver pond. It is a very calm day, the surface is barely rippled. There are several pines and hemlocks in the forest surrounding the pond, but the majority of trees are hardwoods that remain leafless at this early stage of spring. Most of the water grasses near the shores of the pond are golden brown and dormant, but in the foreground and to our right some clumps of sedge are throwing out the first bright green shoots of spring. The sky is a pale blue with many dark clouds streaming across. The setting sun has tinted the horizon and the bottoms of many of the clouds in bright orange and gold.

We are standing in a marshy area along the shore of a beaver pond. It is a very calm day, the surface is barely rippled. There are several pines and hemlocks in the forest surrounding the pond, but the majority of trees are hardwoods that remain leafless at this early stage of spring. Most of the water grasses near the shores of the pond are golden brown and dormant, but in the foreground and to our right some clumps of sedge are throwing out the first bright green shoots of spring. The sky is a pale blue with many dark clouds streaming across. The setting sun has tinted the horizon and the bottoms of many of the clouds in bright orange and gold.