In Finland, the colourful phase of autumn is called ruska. In one month time, all nearly all leaves change colour. In Rovaniemi, a town located on the polar circle in Finnish Lapland, the onset is in early September, when birches  rapidly turn yellow. Simultaneously, poplars burst out in burning red flames, and soon also the rowans, already carrying bunches of blood red berries, change into orange and red.

Those who have walked through the forests and watched out over the hills during the vividly coloured phase of full blown ruska, will forever be enchanted by Lapland.

Tapio is the mythic keeper of the forest.

Rosebay willowherb can be found throughout the boreal forests. Because of her abundance, her beauty can easily be overlooked. But then, during ruska, the street girl shows her beauty!

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As suddenly as they have come, the colors fade away at the end of the month. Most birches are naked and deprived, other still carry some golden coins. But the sadness of this phase of the autumn has its own beauty. In the next picture, I tried to catch the mood of October.