Halloween Deer

Disturbed this deer having a very early morning breakfast this Hallows Eve.

Happy Halloween.

Pumpkin Colored Mushroom

Some mushrooms rival flowers in beauty. This one surely does.

Sunrise Spectacular

October sunrises are not only beautiful but, conveniently, they occur later in the day.

Gull

Look at those knobby yellow knees, that striped beak! Why is it that the thought of gulls makes writers and poets so melancholy?

THE wild bee reels from bough to bough
With his furry coat and his gauzy wing.
Now in a lily-cup, and now
Setting a jacinth bell a-swing,
In his wandering;
Sit closer love: it was here I trow
I made that vow,
Swore that two lives should be like one
As long as the sea-gull loved the sea,
As long as the sunflower sought the sun,—
It shall be, I said, for eternity
’Twixt you and me!
Dear friend, those times are over and done,
Love’s web is spun. ---Oscar Wilde

Hoosier Sunrise Chair

There are still a few seats open for the viewing of the last few sunrises in October 2011.

Hawk!

This Redtail Hawk was hunting this morning at Coffee Creek.

It appears to be a good year for tiny rodents. Happy hunting!

Butterflies in Fall Clothing

Leaves aren't the only thing that change colors in the autumn. This butterfly is sporting an autumn coat; one that is more orange than its summer dress, in keeping with the season.  

Jack Frost Arrived last night...

No one says it better like Indiana's own James Whitcomb Riley:

WHEN  the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The River

Nothing beats the beauty of a river flowing to meet another river flowing to meet the ocean; all connected the whole earth over.

Last look at the Fall

Being made darn right wimpy by the wind and rain this morning, I'm digging from my archive one of the first pictures I have of this autumn's colors.

The extreme wind and rain have uprooted trees in the neighborhood, and I'm afraid the fall colors have been short lived this year. Not many leaves remain on the trees.  

Digital Gold

Taking a picture of the fall foliage with a digital camera presents some challenges. Often a forest exploding with Sassafras gold will appear chlorophyll
green in a digital photo.

Never fear a quick run through a photo editing program to adjust hue will bring the gold back into your fall photo's.    

Mushrooms Fit for a Hobbit

A mushroom found on a recent hike.

THE MUSHROOM is the elf of plants,
At evening it is not;
At morning in a truffled hut
It stops upon a spot ---Emily Dickenson

Lazy River

This spring the Tippecanoe River was a torrent, overflowing its banks, hardly what you would call lazy.

Fall has brought the river down to size---confined within its banks it is, once again, on its lazy course.

Graceful Colors of Fall

Fall is coloring the earth in big ways and in small. This wheat colored grass, so beautiful, was gracefully blowing in the breeze last weekend.

Happy weekend---enjoy the colors of fall....they'll be gone soon.

Don't know what you've got till it's gone.....

An October sunset at Sunset Hill Farm County Park in Porter County Indiana. I've sat and watched the sunset on many an October evening---the time of year when sunset naturally occurs during my after work hike through a very special stand of woods here in this part of Indiana.

And just like in all areas of the country, there are people who don't want to share and don't think much before they deface and destroy for their own purposes. And for whatever reasons, the powers that be allow these people to come in and not only stomp wildlife and wildflower areas but deface trees, erect platforms, and post no trespassing signs in a public park set aside for everyone to share.

These are the places I photographed wildflowers, rare Jack in the Pulpits, this spring. It's where coyotes and minks slink, where chipmunks burrow, where the next year's crop of butterflies are growing in the understory that now is stomped and destroyed.

The culprits this time are Abee Inc. I hadn't heard of them until I saw their no trespassing signs posted in the park. In one area they have re-carved a path out of the understory. A path that I have traversed on almost a daily basis over a period of years, this morning I became disorientated on. In addition if it would have been a darker day I or anyone else using the path may not have seen the obstacle course that this organization's members have erected in this beloved forest.  

Fortunately, in this very park there is going to be a meeting soon. Hopefully this will be the appropriate platform to stop this kind of defacing activity and ensure that all park visitors share in the park without defacing the property or destroying wildlife and wildflower habitat.

     
    I've already emailed the Abee organization, along with the county commissioners in charge of the park system and the park system itself. Join me in protecting our beautiful treasure.

Mushrooms

Isn't this a handsome mushroom? I love how puffballs send their tiny spores out to the world out of small holes in their skin.

Poof !and all those potential baby mushrooms go forth.

Watching the Leaves Turn Crimson

There were bunches of people out for walks in the great weather we had this weekend. Some were walking through the forest admiring leaves, some were collecting the bountiful walnuts falling to the ground this year.

The leaves are turning colors so fast---if you pay attention you can almost see them change.  

Beware!

Along the trail on Saturday I spotted this creature. Or is it a creature?

At first I thought, yea, it's a caterpillar.

Then it let lose with a big poop and I knew it was a caterpillar.

Then it started oozing some green gooey stuff dripping from the lower end and I wasn't too sure I wasn't a fool thinking a bit of bird doo was a caterpillar.  

So I picked up a stick and poked it. And this is what it did:

Notice that red forked tongue poking out at me. It's a warning that I'm glad I heeded. The internet is replete with stories of this particular caterpillar stinging innocent people who apparently are sure enough the caterpillar is not a piece of bird doo they touch it.

This ugly guy will be going through metamorphosis to become a beautiful Giant Swallowtail Butterfly; truly an ugly duckling. 

Raindrops

Raindrops rolling off a sunflower reflecting the sun.

Fiery Fungus

Almost glowing out of the darkness under the trees, this fungus was as bright as any flower.

It's color, so appropriate for this time of year, a gorgeous pumpkin.  

October Morning

O HUSHED October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
To-morrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all. ---Robert Frost

Digging out the Harbor

They're giving us back our beach by digging out the harbor near Indiana Dunes. Over the last 5 years the lake has taken back a good portion of beach as the harbor has become more shallow.

Today big ships, cranes, and shovels are digging out the lake and we've got a good portion of our beach back.

  

Bittersweet

Fall means bittersweet berries on the vine. Identifying the oriental invasive weed from the American bittersweet that is endangered in some areas can be difficult for those of us who are not biologists.

Here is a link for those who are curious.(click here)

Sticky Sweet

These berries, unbothered by bird or insects were sticky with sugary sweetness. I was surprised to find them still hanging.

Perhaps it's only us mammals that crave the sugar. Maybe a deer will come by and devour the sugary berries.  

Asters Everywhere

These delicately blueish Asters are blooming everywhere this time of year---the last hurrah of the parade of wildflowers.

Asters, in the language of flowers, are said to be the talisman of love, daintiness, and trusting.