Juxtaposition

 

It is that time of year when autumn colors and plants sit next to summer hangovers. I will have to take my geraniums into the garage next week overnight Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday if the forecast for frost is right. The fothergilla has peaked in color this week.

Autumn colors have been somewhat muted or missing this fall. My backyard maple mostly turned brown with leaves dropping. The maple next to my neighbor's condo is fairly bright though.

Down below the sumac is a single daisy.

In the newsfeed on my Galaxy tablet there is rarely current events. I guess because I searched and touched on stories about decluttering and best buys at stores like Costco, Trader Joe's, Aldi's, I get that sort of thing in the feed. I read a story about Aldi's fall chicken salad which is an upgrade from the regular chicken salad. It has nuts and cranberries. I bought some yesterday which we ate on a croissant. It is very good. Supposedly it will disappear from the store shelf after the holiday season. 

As the weather heads for cold temperatures, critters are starting to look for warmth. I don't know what this bug is, but I was careful not to let it in my house. I saw one like it in the garage a few weeks ago where I had the geraniums sheltering one night. Then a few days ago when I took something next door to my neighbors, I saw one sitting on their porch chair.

I bought a puzzle at the Friends of the Library book sale at North Webster Thursday morning. I am going to start working on it this weekend. It is a 1000-piecer though when I prefer doing smaller puzzles.

I washed my duster/robe today, and I hung my winter bathrobe in my closet. I wore a short-sleeved top today so I could get my flu shot at Walgreen's, but this afternoon I have on a sweater. I need to think about bringing in the cushions from the porch rocking chairs. I cling to the hope that we might have a sneak Indian summer day yet in our autumn, but most likely my porch sitting days are over.

Potawatomi Wildlife Park

 We have been wanting to get out in the autumn beauty. Yesterday morning in lovely weather we walked some trails at Potawatomi Wildlife Park. This was more of a symphony in yellow than red or orange, but it was pleasant being in the fresh air.

There are several trails about 1-5 miles long and all loops so you don't have to backtrack; you can print a map from its website or there are some at the start of the trails. Guideposts and maps to look at are throughout the park, also. 

The park property is along the edge of part of the Tippecanoe River.

 There is also a small pond which most of the trails skirt. It appears that students come to see the Nature Center and eat lunch at the Eagle's Nest Gazebo.

We did not meet any other people on the trails. As we were leaving, a couple came to start their own walk. Part of the park is a dark sky observation area, and the Warsaw Astronomy Club sometimes has sighting events for the public.

There were some hints of red.

A lot of leaves were already on the ground along with various nuts: walnuts, hickory nuts, acorns.

Some of the walnuts had fallen off the trees and sunk into the shallow part of the pond.

Despite the term wildlife in the park name, we saw no animals. I could hear birds, especially blue jays. We saw an egret in the pond.

My husband said he saw a different kind of bird swoop down and fly away with a fish. He wondered if it might be an osprey. There was a platform for a nest but no nest.

We noticed lots of duck nesting boxes. No ducks though.

There are a few small islands in the pond. At one place there is a bridge to cross over to one of the islands.

The park is privately owned, accepting donations, but not charging a fee. It is open dawn to dusk. It has restrooms. 

Near the entrance was a cabin, but the road was roped off. We did not attempt to park and look inside.

According to the nature center, there are some nice wildflowers in the spring. It was a little muddy in some places; I would recommend good shoes or boots. Definitely not sandals, though it was warm enough yesterday to wear sandals.