Devil's Lake

Devil's Lake State Park, in the Baraboo Hills, south central, WI



Ancient Pre-Cambrian rocks exposed by the glaciers, forming a spring-fed lake between two bluffs. Pueblo Quartzite, some of the oldest rock exposed in North America. 1.5 billion years old, makes up the bluffs, which rise over 500 feet above the water. The lake region is considered sacred by the Native Americans, who named it Spirit Lake, and left several effigy mounds by the shore.





I camped for one night, in mid-October, then spent all day making images and video. It was an unseasonably warm day, the sky mostly empty, not much wind, the air crisp and clear. The light was superb, the autumn colors brilliant.











red sumac glows
in dawn by stand of gateway aspen
inviting the visitor



pools of gold
sea rustling
ocean of fallen leaves



dewdrops on red maple leaves
carpet the lawn—
last night's chill still underfoot



gold, gold, blue
in autumn sunrise halo—
only black in winter





lone sentinel hovers
above a sea of changing colors:
painting the sky



Three-colored maple trees, and their individual three-colored leaves, are one of my favorite things about autumn. The richness of the contrasting colors. A single tree, green at bottom, yellow in middle, red on top, as the colors slowly work their way down from the sky.



fire sunset
living earth immolation
turn to feathered dusk