Enjoy the real autumn this year


September 23, 2016 by Jerry Davis


Take time to notice autumn’s purple mushrooms.  No, you’re not hallucinating if you see some … photo by Jerry Davis


When we race out to enjoy another archery, turkey, or pheasant season, we may be so engrossed in the pursuit at hand that we don’t take time to notice, let alone smell, the real autumn.

My grandson sent me an image of a trail marker he saw in New Zealand this past summer that reminds hikers to, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

Many folks say fall is their favorite season and October is the essence of the autumn months for many.

Notice the color changes, not only the leaves and fruits but the smaller things, the mushrooms, the sky, even the prime plumage on the ducks you’re calling to from a blind.

So you miss a shot once in a while, or miss an opportunity. Involve the other senses, too.

See, touch, taste, hear, and smell autumn.

See the red on the rooster’s head.  Touch the early morning frost on a fallen leaf.  Taste the bark on a birch twig when you chew on it because you forgot to brush your teeth.  Hear the pileated woodpecker as he flies overhead, and smell the decomposing maple leaves.

It’s bacteria and fungi beginning to decompose debris that contribute to the autumn aroma we all love.

Who knows, in doing some of these things you might see a deer pause to do the same as he approaches your blind?