Final Bloom
A stroll in the Alderfer-Oenslager Wildlife Sanctuary at Wolf Creek Environmental Center led us out over the wetland area via boardwalk. Along the walkway was a late-season water lily bloom, floating on dark waters in the afternoon sun. Nearby, tiny green dots of plant life float. It was warm that day but cold days lie ahead. Nature knows.
The Last Days of Brilliance
We took a short walk to get out on an amazing autumn day. The warm afternoon air gently stirred leaves primarily of yellow and brown. Many tree branches look barren. The last brilliance of autumn is here.
Spotted afternoon sun illuminates feathery seed heads of ornamental grass.
Sun Sinks behind Line of Trees
Transitions
There was a feeling of transition in the air at Hinckley Lake today. It didn’t feel like summer, though it is still summer. It didn’t feel like autumn, which it isn’t. It is some in-between, transitional season. On the ground, at the base of a tree, was an illustration of change: a green leaf, leaves fading from color to lifeless, beautiful fringed fungi thriving on a dead tree branch, and ultimately soil.
The Last Holdouts
The others have gone, given up their grip. Time to let go for the season is over. Others will follow but first must come winter. Departures witnessed by the last holdouts.
On the forest floor, green leaves begin to change color as summer ends.
Autumn is nearly here. Mornings are chilly and dew-dripping. Breezes freshen and the air feels drier, seems more transparent. The earliest touches of fall color are showing in the trees and even on the forest floor. Nights are noticeably longer. Autumn is nearly here and there are signs all around.
The leaves, in drifts on the ground, are all brown and dry.
The days are shorter and the nights are chill.
The Great Square of Pegasus is overhead.
And I can smell the autumn.
PhotonStopper 