In the Ozarks, foliage is just beginning to turn color.
Yes, It’s Fall
Mother Nature flips a switch on the astronomical clock every year about this time. The colors change, as do the tasks that need doing. Even the food we eat changes.
At the farm, dried leaves rustle under foot and collect in the flower beds. Falling acorns batter the deck like pellets of hail. Sweaters feel good on the nippy evenings.
Here’s what the weekend looked like as Robin and I explored the fields and woods.
Unlocking numerous gates is part of the forest and field adventure.
Follow the “Yellow-Leafed Road,” which we did on our way to find wild mushrooms.
Bingo! The tree that usually hosts a mushroom called “hen of the woods” was prolific again this year.
“Hens” are most often found around the base of white oaks and bur oaks. The name comes from their feathery look, that resembles a sitting hen.
Oh, the joy! After a successful haul, it’s appropriate for a forager to text their “mushroomy” friends to instill a bit of envy.
Fetching the fungi. Fortunately, this “hen” was easy pickin’s, even for me.
It was a good thing we had a Gator to carry our haul.
No, these are not peaches. They’re wild persimmons and quite tart if eaten before they’re soft and ripened. Robin shook the tree and the ones that fell off were sweet as could be.
From the Forest to the Fields
New calves and their mommas seek a shady spot in a grove of trees.
Robin checks out Paco, one of our quarter-horses, who’s been having foot troubles this year.
On our way back to the house, there were more images of rural America. Our mailbox (above) and a neighbor’s barn (below).
- Mask
- Play
- Adapt
- Vote
- Grow Where You are Planted
