The Gift of Fall – Part 2

Here we are right smack in the middle of the Twelve Days of Christmas and I’ve got more fall magic for you with more Ice Age Trail goodness.

Highland Lakes Segment

Sun! So much sun on this walk. And hot. So very hot. Humid, too. We had a very strange fall in some ways this year. But oh, nothing beats a walk in the woods when it’s this gorgeous.

OMG, yes, more forest road! This one was actually well-traveled by folks on wheels. Not just ATVs, but pick up trucks towing trailers with ATVs on them! Crazy. But it’s county forest land and it’s totally fine and I wasn’t too bothered by anyone – just some nice chit chat now and then as folks went by. It does make me interested to explore with the Jeep in future though. I could cover more territory faster than on foot so it’s an idea.

It isn’t often there is a break in the trees to see a view like this so I had to stop even though it isn’t the greatest scene ever and definitely not the greatest light. Still. Just look at the color on that hill.

And of course I found some color below. As the trees drop their leaves and the canopy thins, light reaches places on the forest floor that it hasn’t touched since leaf break. I love finding leaves caught in ferns and this Ostrich fern was an extra bonus because it’s so lovely even as it declines and dies back for the winter. Ostrich fern are the ones that we eat in spring as fiddleheads.

Here’s another little beauty close to the ground! A very small green frog trying very hard not to be seen. Poor little guy was startled by my big boots and leapt off the side of this puddle and swam to this spot. With greater care I got down to its level with my 35-100mm and got this photo. I love it because it’s such a fall shot, but also because I love frogs and the leaves add so much scale and sense of the place where this frog lives. It was a heck of a job to clean up all the specks on the surface of the water, but I got it done. The puddle is right in the trail and all kinds of vehicles drive through it. Made me a little sad at how many of these and maybe other critters like salamanders might die, crushed under knobby tires. Hopefully the death toll is low and they can spring out of the way as they feel the rumble approach.

Moving on down more forest roads in a blaze of color and autumnal splendor. I didn’t even care it was a road at this point. I was just happy to be out, be in such a rare hot day in October. I mean really hot. Sweat ran into my eyes while I was photographing the fern. Stingy. But it’s a small price to pay for the woods when they’re doing this –

And this –

But I didn’t spend all of my time looking up. Otherwise I’d trip over my own feet. While making sure I didn’t, I found some more lovely Amanitas in various stages of fruiting. This first one reminds me of the ‘key dish’ we used to have on a table on the landing in our old house. All kinds of stuff would collect there, so every few months we’d have to clean it out before it turned into a mountain of junk and we couldn’t find said keys. I also really liked the low angled sun that created such interesting shadows and texture.

Here’s one at a much earlier stage of fruiting. It was on a little slope on the side of the trail and I missed it on my way in, but it stood out on the way back so I got up there and handheld these shots with the camera in my hands, but on the ground, too. Just didn’t feel like getting the tripod again after I’d put it on the backpack.

Sometimes I get like that on my way back to the car. I switch to my medium-telephoto and stow the tripod unless I really need it (like in the next Trail Tale). Mostly I’m looking for smaller slices that I can handhold and fill out the Story of the Place. Sometimes it’s getting later and I just want to get back to the car with minimum fuss. Still looking for photos and opportunities though (my Porcupette encounter happened on the way back to the car and I didn’t care how late it was!). The thing is I was happy, satisfied with my 5-mile walk even though my ultimate goal (a river) didn’t result in any photos that work. It’s the process and the being out in nature (even with ATVs and trucks) that is key for me.