The colors of autumn

 Erica flowers

 Pholiota squarrosoides mushrooms

A carpet of leaves

Autumn is upon us; one might expect it to be chilly here in Oslo, but it's not. The temperatures have been fairly mild for the past few weeks. Today's temperature approached 60 degrees Fahrenheit during mid-afternoon; I can't remember when it's been so warm in November. Last year around this time we were dealing with icy rain and near-freezing temperatures. A cold winter is predicted for Norway, but we'll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, the tree outside our bedroom window has not shed its leaves, although many other trees have. I went for a walk in St. Hanshaugen Park this afternoon, and the paths were covered with leaves, as were the lawns and hillsides. Very pretty--the carpets of leaves.

a view of the Oslo fjord from the top of the hill in St. Hanshaugen Park

Autumn comes to the Oslo fjord

Autumn has been exceptionally lovely this year. The colors of the leaves--the reds, oranges and yellows--bold and pretty. The blue skies, warm temperatures; yesterday the temperature at midday was about sixty degrees Fahrenheit. Pretty good for Oslo. In previous years, it has been cold and gray already by mid-October. So in addition to a warm and sunny summer, I am grateful for this autumn, for the gradual transition from warm to cold. We were out on the boat yesterday for a few hours, and I took some photos of the trees and the foliage. My husband and boat captain Trond drove the boat around to the places I've photographed, before the boat decided that it had had enough for the day (motor problems). Enjoy!

Frognerkilen harbor

Oscarshall castle on the Bygdøy peninsula, Oslo, Norway

restaurant on the island of Gressholmen

Gressholmen

sailboat off the island of Hovedøya

Hovedøya foliage

Autumn comes to Norway

Autumn has arrived, and with it comes some stormy days, with menacing clouds and rain. But sometimes rainbows follow after the storms, and if we're lucky, we get to see double rainbows.

This past weekend, we drove about thirty miles north of Oslo to see the autumn foliage. In many places, the leaves were just starting to turn, in other places, they were well on their way. Not so many bright red colors this year--more oranges and yellows. At least right now. It has been a lovely autumn so far--mild temperatures, mostly sunny days and clear nights.

Autumn colors

It cannot be said that this year's autumn foliage was disappointing. There were a lot of lovely reds and golds and the weather didn't completely disappoint us either--we had some really mild fall days. All in all, a good autumn--here are some photos I took on our weekend walks in the area where we live in Oslo.