As you can see, we have autumn now and every day the leaves change from
color to color...and more and more of them are on the ground. I have
lived here for 33 years and yet it still amazes me how fast the summers
sweep past us.
I have started to clean up my garden, pulling out plants that have died
back and cutting back to the ground those that will overwinter. The
weather is absolutely beautiful: clear blue skies and temperatures close
to 20 C and warmer during the day, down to 5 C at night. And no
mosquitoes! The colors are brilliant with golds and yellows (birch and
aspen) and down on the ground, the fireweed and high bush cranberry
(Viburnum edule) bright and deep red. The tops of Murphy Dome and Ester
Dome, above tree line, are red purple from the dwarf birch (Betula nana)
and blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) Many of the migrant birds have left for
parts south. Last weekend, in the middle of the afternoons at home I
could hear Sandhill Cranes calling as they gathered in large flocks and
flew away. This morning, early, early when I went out for my daily run,
it was so dark and clear that despite the bright moon I could see stars.
I don't think I have seen any since early last April but now that the
days are shorter it won't be long before I see the stars more than the
sun! So much beauty and yet it is bittersweet since the summer is ending
and the cold weather will be with us soon. But, as always this time of
the year, I look forward to dusting off my skiis and snowshoes and once
again tramp the trails in the woods. I hope we get a lot of snow this
winter!
