Down by the Muskoka lakeside

Another beautiful Canadian Thanksgiving at the Lake Muskoka cottage

A crisp fall morning walk is rewarded by this view

Autumn has descended all too quickly for us in southern Ontario and while our summer annuals (those that haven't been chucked out for mums and kale) on on their last legs, the fall colours of our native deciduous trees and shrubs are peaking. Here are some reminders why I love our four seasons taken over our Thanksgiving weekend visit to my sister and my brother-in-law's cottage near Gravenhurst, ON:

Windy and cool but no water skiers to disrupt the peace

Vibrant orange autumn maple and sumac leaves

Isn't it amazing how the chlorophyll is drawn out randomly?

A final reminder of a wonderful season

By Paul Jung, author of "garden muses: a Toronto gardening blog"Google Google Find us on Google+ Find us on Google+

Many reasons to give thanks in Lake Muskoka

Lake Muskoka's beautiful fall colours

What a difference a week makes when it comes to the weather! Last weekend was Thanksgiving holiday in Canada and my family visited my sister and her family at their new cottage near Gravenhurst, Ontario which is about a 2 hour drive from Toronto. The weather was incredible! Sunny and remarkably warm (25 degrees Celsius or into the 70s F.)  The leaves were also changing colours so I had to show some pics Linda took.

Sunrise calm

Fishing on a mirror

There was absolutely no wind at sunrise as these pictures show. I'm an avid fisherman and took every opportunity to wet my line. You might even think I photoshopped myself into this picture but the lake surface was truly a mirror. It was pure bliss to have a coffee on the dock and meditate in silence. No jet skis, bugs, or party revellers; rather the only fireworks were the maples and oaks lining the shore.

Tri-colour beech, in a way

With the sky a pristine blue, we often looked overhead to really appreciate the changing colour of the trees. I think this is a cool shot showing three different colours in the same beech tree's canopy. 

Nature always surprises me with its random beauty although one could argue that the tree is simply withdrawing as much energy as possible from its leaves before they fall. 

What we perceive as beautiful colours of crimson, gold, violet, magenta, etc., are strictly unintended byproducts of the tree's evolution. But who really cares when you see such beauty?