“But then fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you.”
― Stephen King, 'Salem's Lot'
I love Fall. There is just no other way to say it. It is my favorite season. As Stephen King notes, summer is treacherous. Drought, heat, painful sunburns, ticks and chiggers, dry & crunchy grass, and bugs that look like they're from alien planets. Did I mention that I really hate ticks and chiggers? Don't get me wrong. Summer brings with it lots of good things too - many different flowers, butterflies, bees and of course, my favorite birds, purple martins.
But there's nothing like Fall - not too hot, not too cold - it's just right! Unlike the quickening we feel in Spring, Fall brings a feeling of a slowing pace. It feels as if we have reached the end of this year's marathon race and now it's time to catch our breath, clean up the mess that was summer and prepare to tuck everything into bed for its winter's rest. One of my favorite activities in the fall is to take a stroll down dirt roads and wander off through the trees to see what summer has wrought. Where once stood bushes and briars covered with spiders, ticks and chiggers standing guard with their nasty bites as their weapons, waiting to leap upon their prey and leave behind bites that wouldn't heal for months, there are now dead leaves and cold, dead grass. It is exciting to take in the colorful beauty of the leaves on the trees even as they are slowly dropping off. The varieties of colors against a clear blue sky give me pause and I love to stand and listen to them rustling in the wind and take a deep breath of the cool, clean air.
Often times, people are oblivious to things that are happening in the forest as they zip to and fro down the highways and back roads around this county. So, I feel like I’m harboring an exciting secret as I venture forth on a hike with Nikki through the woods, as if we are adventurers and we’re off to discover great secrets hidden in the deep, dark forests. Well, it may not be “Indiana Jones” type adventures, but it is still quite exciting for us to find the unusual things that we come across in the forests.
This tree died long ago from possibly a lightning strike and Nikki and I stop to watch the opening to see if there are any creatures taking advantage of the large opening through the middle of the trunk.
The growth on the side of this tree is so oddly shaped, it deserves further inspection and the zoom lens. Now, what in the world could have caused such an oddly shaped growth?
It looks to be perfect for a future home for some creature. A bit of
work to remove the rest of the dead debris and an enterprising, ambitious squirrel or bluejay could make a nice nest site out of it. It even has a nice view of the nearby
road.
Nikki sniffs out our next treasure. This is her most preferred type of dog walk - one where she is allowed to stick her nose to the ground and follow every scent in Texas County. If I let her off leash, she would eventually get lost because she, much as a hound, follows her nose everywhere.
And her find is a doozy. A tree trunk twisted by some violent, incredibly strong force and rotted down the middle.
It's fun to ponder what must have happened to this tree. A tornado, perhaps?
But the hunt isn't over yet. There are more treasures that my guide must sniff out!
Back on our own property, this mulberry is one of my favorites. It was unfortunately (mulberries like full sun, but do okay with partial sun) planted by a bird, likely perched on the branches of the nearby oak under many other big trees. Its limbs desperately reach for the sun, just at the edge of the savanna.
After trimming this Easter red cedar tree, we noticed that someone had been very busy
keeping the bugs under control. Our likely bug hunter is either our very sweet little Downy woodpecker or our Yellow-bellied woodpecker pair. They left some very interesting patterns too!
Lastly, my river birch with its peeling bark of many colors. Dolly Parton had a coat of many colors. Well, so does my river birch! I love these trees. The trunk is as smooth as a baby's butt and the different colors of peeling bark add to its interest.
Here in the mid-west, fall is over as of this writing. It seems that every year, things change in our natural environment. I'm finding that I'm changing with it too. I'm noticing these types of things more often and I find that walks in the woods have a strange, deeply calming effect on my soul. I'll be doing more of it this winter when the snows fall and create another entirely different world. One that still has no ticks or chiggers.
