A few years ago, we bought some property on a lake that is about 100 miles from our Atlanta-area home. We had not had a chance to experience the change of seasons there at our property, because, for a long time it was completely undeveloped and hard to explore. Too many trees, too much brush, too many obstacles. Now, the lot is much more easily navigated because some of the brush has been cleared and our new house has been built. This week I spent a few days at the lake property, excited to see what Fall looked like up in those parts.
I was especially looking forward to walking the heavily wooded property, which I thought would be ‘safe’, given the cooler temperatures that we had been experiencing. What I mean by ‘safe’ is that pesky spiders and insects might be gone or hidden so that I didn’t come face-to-face with anybody or anything I didn’t want to see. In warm weather, anytime I tried to walk off the beaten path, I walked straight into giant sticky spider webs which got tangled all up in my hair. Not only that, I had multiple encounters with mosquitos and chiggers (red bugs), which left me red and bumpy and scratching intensely for weeks on end. So much so that I considered NEVER walking around out-of-doors on the property again. And, we can’t forget the thorny spring and summer vegetation that always scratched up my legs and ankles. But, with lowering temperatures in Fall, I reasoned, things might be different.
That Fall day at the lake property was absolutely lovely. The Fall colors were subdued, not brilliant, but very pleasing. The woods had a relaxed, cozy feel. Like a giant hug. I spent about an hour and a half walking all around our lot, searching for interesting bits of nature that I could photograph. And, guess what? I am ready to show you some of those pictures right now! These are photos of Fall, and some of the unusual things that I stumbled upon on our wooded lake lot.
Here is a fun twisty tree that I am naming Chubby Checker. (His hit song was "The Twist".) Chubby Checker Tree always makes me smile.....
Here's a Peek-a-Boo tree trunk.....
Here are some beautifully textured rocks. Similar boulders are scattered all over the woods. The smallest rock here is about the size of a basketball. I would never be able to pick these up!.....
And, here is a beaver dam. Not particularly attractive, but kinda cool, nonetheless.....
The shoreline.....
A eye-catching pinecone.....
Interesting tree marking that looked like burlap roping.....
Fungi. Perhaps this is an example of Hairy Curtain Crust?.....
This one might be Turkey Tail??.....
A bit of silliness... This is a picture of the grave that we had someone dig for us. Well, actually, the county had to legally permit our septic system, so they dug a hole about 6 feet long x 4 feet wide x 3 feet deep to check for underground rock. We never were able to get the hole filled back in, so we keep it as a grave at the ready, in case we need one some day. So, watch your step if you come to visit. Don't want you to fall in. Or, don't want us to snuff you out and toss you in there! (Oh, we would never.) Because of all the leaves, the photo doesn't really show how large and deep this hole is, but I wanted to include the pic here anyway.....
This is my tea mug that I accidently carried with me as I walked around the property. I had a few sips of tea to finish off, so I had it in my hand when I walked out of the house. It was a very big pain to be holding that mug for my long walk, especially once it was empty. Super inconvenient. I had to constantly put it down so that I could take pictures as I went. I could never leave the mug in one place, because I was not planning to backtrack to pick it back up again. For some reason, I thought you'd might like to see my stylish mug.....
This was extremely strange. I came upon a 5 foot tall tree stump that had weathered down to the inner core. There were random small branch stubs poking out, and at each one the tree had grown in the shape of a skinny perfect triangle. Very narrow triangular growths around all sides of the stump. It's hard to explain--look at the pictures. I've never seen anything like it.....
Here's another namesake tree. This is the most gigantic tree of all. Its trunk is two or three times bigger than the other large trees on our lot. I'll call this one Shaquille O'Neal (a great BIG on the basketball court, back in the day; and a funny guy.) Again, hard to capture the enormous size, but it is impressive.....
Translucent Mushrooms. Of course, now I'm on the lookout for wood fairies and forest nymphs frolicking around the woods!.....
It was a purely delightful walk in the woods of Fall.....
That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold..... --Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare
Actually, Shakespeare was using Fall as a metaphor for the passing of time in the ending stages of human life. But, being as we have a burial site handy, I thought the quote might be apropos.
I appreciate nature immensely, but I am by no means an expert on the natural world. I don't know or can't remember species of plants, or processes that living things transition through as they grow and develop. I'm more like "Hey, WOW, look at that!!!" You might feel the need to correct me or give me more information about some of the pictures I have shown; and you just might have the knowledge to back it up. That's great--bring it on! I would love to continue to enjoy and learn about the curiosities that I encountered as I walked on that lovely Fall Day.