Autumn Colors Continue to Creep Into The Woodlands At Community Park

Well it’s  now over  two weeks since I started this blog post.  It is about a hike I took on a sunny afternoon,  at  the Community Park near my home in Hazle township Luzerne County . I wanted to  see how the Autumn colors were progressing on the trees surrounding the park. It was early October and I discovered they were  getting nearer to their peak . 

The waters of Lake Irena reflected the deep blue skies.  As I began my hike along the lake I immediately noticed the withered pickerelweed  along the lake shore.  

Only a few weeks ago hundreds of dragonflies, butterflies, wasps and bees could be seen  near their flowers along the lake.  Last week only a few dragonflies could be seen. The few I saw were all of this species and were mating and depositing their eggs in the cool waters of the lake. The adults will not survive the cold but their offspring will hatch and begin their lives as nymphs in the cold waters of the lake. 

Continuing my walk along the shores of the lake I also saw a few grasshoppers, 

and wasps and yellow jackets. However, there were not many of them and soon they will be disappear our woodlands completely. 

There were also a few frogs enjoying the early October sunshine, including this  leopard frog,

and this fellow, which I haven’t been able to identify. 

Although many of the leaves on the trees along  the lake were still green, some were starting to show their Autumn colors. 

The maples are usually one of the first to change colors and fall to the ground.

Many of the leaves on the oak trees have turned red or orange but they tend to cling to their branches for a few days after changing. 

I left the lake and walked the trails into the surrounding woodlands were I saw a number of late blooming wildflowers including the mountain dandelion, 

the  late blooming common boneset, 

and a few different fall asters, including the smooth swamp aster,

the pacific aster,

and the frost aster. I never realized there were this many different species of asters in our area. I always thought they were the same flower. It wasn’t until I  got the plant identification app for my iPhone that I learned of the many species that bloom in our area. Once again I was reminded you are never too old to learn. 

Walking in the fall woods one also encounters the sweet smell of the withering hayscented and cinnamon ferns.

As I was returning to the lake I heard the honking of flock of Canada geese flying overhead. It won’t belong until they leave our area and head south for the Winter. 

On this fine early October afternoon they were. like me, enjoying the autumn colors and sunshine. 

I finished my three mile hike under the large, mainly oak and maple, trees in the park, as the sun filtered through the changing leaves. It was a pleasant day for a hike and I hope we get many more before the real cold weather settles in. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photographs of the Autumn colors I saw at the park. Community Park walk October 6 2020. 

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.    Nathaniel Hawthorne

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