The PHANTASMAGORICAL colours of Autumn!

A traditional Mongolian proverb says:

 "When Naadam ends, autumn begins."

Well, we've just had our own mini Naadam celebrating the one year anniversary of our horse riding club so I guess this proverb rings true! Not many things can be as spectacular as a Mongolian autumn. It caught me by surprise as it seemed a day earlier the landscape was fairly green. Or was it that I was having too much fun to notice? I took these pictures last week while visiting the countryside with my friends. The colours were so vibrant and rich that as the sun shone down it seemed it was trying to draw attention to the last blasts of colour the steppes will see for a very long time . There were vivid golds and yellows mixed with russet earthy tones and sometimes  splashes of pink.  Sadly, it wont be long before it all gives way to Mongolia's favourite/predominant colour, white!

Vivid gold trees- a contrast to the fading grasslands 

Interesting fence holding back the vegetation :D

  Azure skies provide a stunning background to the granite hills and the russet and orange shrubs dotted around add interest to the yellowing grass.
Note the tablets: I mentioned these in the previous blog (they line the path as you walk up to the Buddhist monastery).

You can see more of the Buddhist tablets.
Love the dotted colors all over.

Haven't featured a fence in a while

A man rests in the sun. His bull was saddled. I 'd have loved to see him riding it.

This was taken from the car-a stunning palette of autumnal 
colours.

Turtle Rock given a face lift by the surrounding landscape.
Almost looks like the foreground was photoshopped into a black & white pic!

I'm going to miss you Autumn xx