In early October, a Sunday drive would have nice views of autumn colors but this Sunday the extremely windy night and morning has stripped most of the leaves off, even the tough oak leaves. This road would be a great sledding hill in the winter with the series of knolls plunging downward to the next one until it reaches the level of Lake Superior.
Down, Down, Down the Autumn Road
The witches must be flying rapidly on their brooms this Halloween as the wind is blowing hard this evening while the full moon shines through the clouds. And it is a blue moon too, not only because it is the second full moon in this month, but because the wind chill is in the low twenties.
Halloween Moon
One might need to take a quiet wagon ride to pick out their pumpkins in order to have them in time for Halloween.
Pumpkin Wagon
The snow was slowly melting off my roof but it was just a drip, drip and not a steady stream like this cascade of Siskiwit Falls. Just twenty days ago, the autumn colors were displaying brilliant colors and the white was from the rapids and not snow.
Cascading Autumn
Although the loud drumming can be heard a quarter of a mile away, spotting the slow movements of the Ruffed Grouse might take a little patience during quiet walks. The grouse feed almost exclusively on vegetation and in the fall, acorns and soft fruits are a main source. In the harsh winter, their food becomes buds and twigs from aspen, willow and birch as they are able to digest foods high in cellulose.
Grouse on the Move
The white bark stands out against the colored leaves until time and the wind removed the autumn foliage and snow was the new white in the scene.
Orange and White
The sunshine helped make the day seem brighter but with the temperature below freezing, the snow hasn’t melted. A few weeks ago, autumn was displaying its color and it is hard to look at the white snow covering the ground now. The three mile hike through the woods was pretty with its fall foliage but it would have a different look in the winter.
Lost Creek in Yellow
The scene around this old church a few weeks ago had the autumn colors as a backdrop instead of the white snow that fell again today. Built in 1920, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Herbster, Wisconsin, had its first Mass celebrated in January 1921 by Father Amen, who came with the mail carrier from Park Falls. With a dwindling congregation and a shortage of priests, the church was closed in 1992 and the bell was moved to the cemetery.
Old Church in Herbster
The snow is slowly melting and a few patches of lawn are beginning to peak out but haven’t revealed many fallen pretty autumn leaves yet.
Autumn Maple Leaf
Winter is still trying to push autumn away as more snow feel this morning. And although the wind has taken most of the leaves off the trees, walking a path coated in autumn foliage is preferred than the current white stuff covering the ground.
Walking an Autumn Path
