An Early Autumn Walk In Community Park.

Rain was in the forecast for Saturday morning here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. So  I decided to stay close to home and take an early Autumn walk at the nearby Community park in Hazle Township, Luzerne County.   It was partly to mostly cloudy  with a seasonably cool 53 degrees when I arrived at the park around 8 a.m. 

The park was subdued and quite now. In the Summer the park is filled with walkers, fishermen and families. Their voices and the songs of birds fill the air. Not these  days. It was eerily quiet. A couple of fishermen were the only humans  in the park. . 

The only wildlife activity I observed   were  a couple of mallard ducks on the lake, 

and this friendly squirrel scampering along the trail. It was foraging  for acorns on the ground before it ran up this tree and watched me walk by.

This smaller red squirrel, however, ran into the safety of the forest as soon as it saw me. 

As I walked around the lake the clouds increased and threatened rain. 

The now overcast skies  added to the somber feeling of Fall. Many of the leaves were now turning color, including some of the red maples,

oaks and

sumac trees,

and sassafras trees. 

The scented  fern has now turned yellow and  its sweet fragrance is always a sign that  Fall has arrived.

The bracken ferns also turned brown . 

I walked into the surrounding woodlands and  an abandoned roadway. 

Here I found a few of the last wildflowers of the  season including the spotted knapweed, 

rabbit tobacco,

and goldenrod. Only a few yellow jackets were active on this early Fall morning. 

I did see a few crows perched in a tree, but they quickly flew off as I approached. 

And I also saw this wooly bear caterpillar  crawling on the ground. Folklore has it this  fuzzy insect can predict the weather for the upcoming winter depending on the distribution of the black and brown colors on its body. Here is a video I took of the critter. https://youtu.be/n03LhOOQX_I

It started to rain, and so I headed back  to the park. 

Lake Irena took on an entirely different look with the cloudy skies and falling rain. A look that Fall has arrived and that cooler weather is on the way. 

Here is a link to a gallery with some more photographs from my early Autumn walk. Community Park Walk September 26 2020. 

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.     Emily Bronte

fskokoski@gmail.com

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