Nootka roses are pink when they bloom and red when they ripen.The leaves ripen into orange and yellow. The canes ripen to  purple. Even the yellow which we, as humans, see at this time of year is not the yellow of spring or summer. We change with the earth. And the roses change with us.
For the full ripeness of nootka rose canes in this season, you need late Autumn light, just before dusk, when it comes in orange under the clouds, through the whole thickness of the atmosphere. In other words, the colour is not just the colour of the canes, but of the earth, here and now…

… as it catches the nootka rose ….

… and the nootka rose catches it…

… triggered by frost. By spring, these canes will be orange, as they take on a new season, and then their blooms will scent the valley, but for now we wait, with the hips, for the winter birds.