It’s been a spectacular month – with dramatic clouds and sun, and brilliant leaf colors. 

The wetland and Sumac Bluff

 

Wetland on a misty morning

 

Hidden Oaks bench – early in October, most leaves were still green.

 

Then they changed color

 

Now the colors are softening to a more wintry gray

 

The Knife Edge Point bench

 

Indian Grass Point

 

I’m still finding a few late flowers.

Black-eyed Susan

 

Harebells

 

Aromatic Aster

 

Does along Cabin Creek path

 

Hidden Oaks Savanna looking out to the point

 

Indian Grass Savanna

 

Indian Grass Savanna – looking north into Ragwort Opening

 

Indian Grass Point  – looking south to Maple Ridge

 

Sugar Maples on Maple Ridge

 

Buffalo Ridge Prairie

 

Hidden Oaks Meadow

 

Our fall project is to clear the southeast facing hillside of Indian Grass Point – to turn it back into savanna.  It has some big old oaks, but brush and smaller trees have grown up around them.

Here’s the hillside on October 1, before we started.

 

This is the way it looked a few days ago – after a few weeks of cutting and clearing and hauling away piles of brush.

 

Here’s a closer look.  This is from October 1 – before we started.

 

And this is a similar spot on October 19.

We hope to make it to the top of the hill  – the bottom edge of the dry prairie remnant – before the snow comes.

 

Rockrose in the fall

 

Cottonwood leaf in the mist

 

The view out my window – beyond my computer screen.  Migrating birds love these bushes.  White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow have just gone through;  now I’m seeing Fox Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos.

 

Stormy sunset over Western Prairie