Taken 2008 October 18 in Hillsborough from 4490 Highway 252
1.8 km (1.1 mi) east of its junction with the Smithville Road
GPS 46°03.89?'N 61°20.37?'W
The weather the two following days was rainy, windy, cloudy, and overcast. I did take some pictures in Hillsdale in the country back of Judique and along the Whycocomagh Road (again!), but they did not come out bright enough to be selected for this essay. On Saturday, however, the sun and blue sky returned. Of course, I had the closing concert of the festival in the afternoon, so I was unable to fully profit from the good weather, which anyway got progressively worse during the day, but I was out taking photos for as long as I could.
One of the most lovely spots in the Mabou area is the look-off on Highway 252; since it looked this year very like it did last year, I have reluctantly omitted it from this essay. On my way back, I happened to glance across the Mull River valley and noticed this hayfield with Southwest Ridge rising on the other side of the valley.
At the upper elevations, it is clear that the poor weather of the two previous days had wreaked havoc with the deciduous trees there, many of which have by now been denuded of their leaves (I later noticed that the same thing had happened to the trees in the upper elevations of the Cape Mabou Highlands seen from Northeast Mabou). There is also some loss in the lower elevations, but most trees still have their leaves and their bright colours were a joy to behold. My camera didn’t seem to get the reds as bright as I remember seeing them, but they stood out to the naked eye.