Bow Season Starts Tomorrow

Our nearby gardens have suffered extensive deer damage this summer.  This group's ownership of our ground is so strong that their only reaction to the opening of the living room window was to look up.  That mother caressing her fawn is the one deer that I really want gone.  Each year she has twins and her loving bond with her offspring is so strong that they will still be at her side when the next batch are born.  It is possible that every animal in this photo is related to her.

Two additional deer moving down the hill got their attention.  Ground pawing and snorts sent the interlopers eastward.  Having never hunted we are unfamiliar with just how the thrill of the hunt builds.  I have suggested that the chosen hunters park near the road and walk to the house.  Stepping out of its shadow, an easy arrow could be launched.  If more of a hunt is desired, a stealthy approach through the undergrowth seen in the background would allow the hunters to experience a more traditional hunt.  In any event this group of deer both start and end their day on what is our lawn.  We are looking forward to a successful hunt.  There are simply an excessive number of deer here and they see this ground as theirs.

Here is a little seasonal color to help set the mood.  The two huge maples deeper in this side valley that usually glow orange have already shed their leaves.  We were late to drive here, but this small orange colored tree still holds most of its leaves.

My shadow falling on New England asters and Rudbeckia triloba growing in our garden near the road does not spoil this beautiful combination of purple and yellow.  We know what will follow but now we simply enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.

First Autumn Red

 This first photo was taken a couple of weeks ago.  A storm featuring rain and wind dropped this sumac stem to the ground.  The beginning loss of chlorophyll allowed some of the red pigmentation that was always present in the leaf to be seen.  Usually leaves in this early state of change in color are high up in the tree out of sight.  Their early trip to the ground presented us with this never before seen amazing image.  This time we were in the right place at the right time.

Yesterday this fallen cluster was found.  Individual leaves range in color from solid red to wildly striped illustrating the process of color change.  In response to diminished sunlight, both in duration and intensity, and lower temperatures, these trees blocked the flow of moisture and nutrients to their leaves.  This caused the decline in the green chlorophyll allowing the ever present red coloration to take center stage.

Sumac trees are generally seen as trash trees.  That has not always been the case as the trunk wood includes a lighter colored core that was in earlier times inlaid to accent wooden jewelry boxes.  If one can overlook their current reputation, perhaps the brightest red leaves of the season can now be enjoyed.   We were a few days late driving to these roadside ditch filling trees.  Droopy dryness detracts from the brilliant red that was stunning just recently but is still worth seeing.

The darker red leaves suggests that the change in color happened earlier  on this tree.  Sumac trees are relatively free of the dark rot so common on maple leaves.  Green trees can be seen on the ridge behind the sumac.  Their time of seasonal color is yet to come.  We know of a small cluster of huge old maple trees whose leaves turn bright orange.  We will make a detour today to see if this is their time to shine.  At the end of the season, a wooded hillside near Otselic features a particular variety of oak trees whose leaves turn purple in color.  This valley is wide and the ridge is visible for miles.  The purple colored trees spread across this forest of mixed hardwoods.  It is a sight that is well worth the drive needed to see it.