With snow scheduled to bring an end to autumn — at least temporarily — I decided to get up early to head to Jensen Lake for one more colorful sunny morning.

Alas, a deer hunt in Lebanon Hills Regional Park meant no trip to Jensen today. But Eagan’s Thomas Lake Park was not far away.

The morning was crisp after a thick frost, but the oak trees couldn’t be more beautiful.

A few were still green, but the rest are all shades of orange, red, and brown, reminding me of crayon names: maize, chestnut, copper, maroon, goldenrod, sepia, tan, yellow orange, orange yellow, mahogany, brick red, and even more colors that haven’t been turned into crayons yet.

I also have a memory of a color called “burnt umber,” but I must be combining “burnt sienna” and “raw umber.”

It was worth staying at work an hour later than normal to make up for such a gorgeous morning in the park.

> More photos from Thomas Lake Park

I couldn’t resist stopping on my way to work to take photos at Como Park. The trees were spectacular in the morning sunshine:

On the way home, I had to stop to admire the artistic clouds from the storms rolling through the Twin Cities:

Photo: red oaks by crystalcolby on Flickr