I’ve lived in Chicago since late 1997, and am preparing to move to Minneapolis, which is nearly as relentlessly flat. But a half-hour’s drive east of Minneapolis is Stillwater, on the St. Croix River, so picturesque and (cough) tourist-ridden, but hilly and very pretty if you’re there during that good foliage time.

With three spires and a few roofs peeking through the foliage, it reminded me very nicely of the rolling terrain around New England that I grew up loving, and I’m happy that I saw this picture come together as I aimed the lens this way and that. A blue sky would have been wonderful, but Fall in the Midwest only gives so much.

October 21, 2023. Nikon Coolpix P1000 (1/2.3-inch sensor), 24.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 135mm), f/4, 1/400, ISO 100.