End of summer as not seen before

Living adjacent the Sycamore Creek, I have not experienced the change of seasons so closely before. As a child, I remember the falling leaves, but it seemed to me that the leaves didn't come down in earnest until the air was cold and crisp. Maybe, my memory had failed.

The fall equinox begins September 22nd, just a few days away. The leaves have been falling for a couple of weeks in the mostly dry environment. The nuts from trees are down too. Some berries remain on bushes, and many of them are poisonous. That is why they remain there uneaten by birds and animals.

Surely, there is still lots of green in the woods, but the leaves are turning. Some vines are already bright red.

The raking will begin over the weeks to come. The practice was to mulch or burn the leaves when I was young. Some leaves would be used to enrich the garden, while others would be burned with smoke rising from yards and fields all around.

A few leaf piles would serve as a fort for boys to play in.

Soon the air will cool sufficiently to repress the incessant insects. Then, I will enter the woods and walk the creek to do more exploring. Still, I will apply Deet to discourage the ever-present ticks that travel with the deer.