Aunt Lafern

Yep, that’s the title of this image.
Yesterday was Kathleen’s birthday so we went to Pere Marquette park in Illinois to hike and capture some fall foliage. We went last year and the colors were pretty good, but we got caught in a downpour. So we wanted to try again this year. Along the river road on the way to PM we didn’t see much color in the trees on the bluffs, but we were somewhat hopeful. When we got there it looked like peak was still 7-10 days away – if there is going to be a peak this year. Maybe it has something to do with the crazy late freeze we had this spring. It messed up a lot of plants and trees. Some bloomed and some didn’t. Whatever the reason… not much color.
Having hiked in a bit and not seeing any color to speak of, or a composition that sparked my interest, I asked Kathleen to look compositions among the ferns along the trail. Bam! She spotted this image below. The twig with the five golden leaves and the other two fallen leaves are rich in color and texture, and work well set against the cool soft tones of the ferns.
But why Aunt Lafern? My dad’s oldest sibling was named Mary Lafern and went by Lafern. She was born in 1908 but tragically died of a ruptured spleen around the age of 7 after being run over by a wagon. It’s my understanding that back then the medical profession hadn’t discovered you could live without a spleen. So, represented in this image is Lafern, her five siblings in the golden leaves, and my grandparents in the other two leaves. Of the eight, my dad remains at age 96.
One day I’ll meet Lafern, but not in this life. But I will in the life to come!