Fall has arrived in the Whetstone Stray Open Space

autumn colours...

I hopped off the bus at the Totteridge stop today rather than going all the way to Woodside Lane. This decision extended my walking time by a good half hour, but it was a half hour pleasure stroll starting at the Dollis Valley Greenway, and wandering back through the Whetstone Stray Open Space.  I haven't walked through the park in a week or so, and it is clear that fall has well and truly arrived. The air is crisp, and the autumn palette is everywhere.

Dollis Valley Greenway

Whetstone Stray Open Space

I was amused to see that while the walking path on the Greenway (to the right of Totteridge Road) looked like someone had swept it, the path in Whetstone (to the left of Totteridge) was often obscured by the thick carpet of leaves. Indeed, though its trees too are breaking out in a range of warm tones, the "Greenway" seems to be holding onto more of its green....or, at least the GRASS is still green (even if is always looks just a bit greener on the other side of the fence).
 

holding on to the  leaves...

....or  just letting them go...

Over in Whetstone, on the other hand, while some of the trees are retaining their leaves, other trees look like naked skeletons surrounded by a carpet of colour.

I expect you can imagine the smells of autumn, as the leaves begin to break down, and return to the earth. I wish I could capture for you the sound of the leaves beneath my feet, or the crackling sound walking underneath the oak tree, where acorns are scattered everywhere, and crunch underfoot.

leaves beside the path

some last green malingerers...

acorns underfoot

There was also an amazing sky full of clouds, with the sun occasionally taking a moment to break through, somehow emphasizing the bare bones of the leafless trees against the horizon.

the sun peeking through

trees against the cloudy sky

Certainly, worth hopping off the bus a bit early.