Bodkin Creek in Fall

Bodkin Creek is a small stream that flows through parts of Downs Memorial Park and then into the Chesapeake Bay. It barely gets a mention on a map, and you'd have to know where to look for it, but like all rivers and streams it's full of life and beautiful, particularly in the fall. Here we see the creek on a late autumn afternoon in Downs Memorial Park. The low sun casts long shadows and only illuminates the tops of the trees or those along the riverbank. Everything else is lost in shadow as a cold breeze passes through, rattling the drying leaves. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Bay Breeze in Fall

On the last warm day of fall, we watch a cold wind blow the drying leaves from old trees by the Chesapeake Bay. The ground is already covered in crisp leaves as the low sun casts long shadows. Soon, the winter cold will set in, but that won't spoil this peaceful afternoon.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Sweetgums by the Bay

In Down's Memorial Park, old sweetgum trees turn shades of orange and crimson by the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. The autumn breeze scatters leaves in the low sunlight.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Downs Memorial Park by the Bay

One of my favorite local parks to visit is Downs Memorial Park, which lies on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. This park has over 200 acres of forests and trails, as well as a large shore along the Bay with grassy areas and benches available so one can spend an afternoon looking out across the Bay, watching ships pass by in the distance.

Autumn is one of the best times to visit this park since it is full of trees that change interesting colors: chestnut oaks turn bronze, sweetgums change from orange to wine or rust red, and hickories turn golden hues. A good number of trees grow right down by the water on small raised embankments. From these areas, one can stand in the shade and look out across the water, as seen in this painting looking southward from the water's edge under a group of trees. In the distance, you can make out the far shore of the Bay across the waters.

"Downs Park in Fall by the Bay"

Acrylic painting, 14" x 17"