Early fall scenes on the Mall

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Yellow wild flowers, possibly golden asters, bloom on the Mall. This photo was taken at the National Museum of the American Indian on Sunday morning.

Did you get outside this past weekend? The weather was hard to top. I was on the Mall Sunday morning for a photo shoot and overheard several people remarking about the wonderful weather. Even the sports announcers during Sunday night's Redskins game at FedEx Field remarked about the fine weekend weather in Washington.

I skipped a sunrise shoot this time, but arrived on the Mall early Sunday morning as the sun was rising above the museums. There was a slight chill in the air, but bright sunshine with a cloudless sky quickly warmed the temperature to a very comfortable level. A refreshing breeze blew from the southwest, which became briefly gusty by late morning, but then rapidly subsided during the early afternoon. On the Mall, fall flowers were in bloom and the leaves on the trees were just starting to change color. The weather in Washington doesn't get much better.

Read below for more flowers and scenes of the Mall from last weekend.

Roses bloom near the Smithsonian Castle.

A Monarch butterfly stops at some wild flowers near the Museum of the American Indian. The Monarchs are migrating south through our area.

The carousel on the National Mall, near the Smithsonian Metro stop.

Hanging flowers near the Smithsonian.

Red and yellow roses bloom near the Smithsonian Castle.