---

   The days are becoming shorter, and the temperatures are dropping. I enjoy this time of year when we get past the stifling heat of August and are able to again enjoy our days outdoors without feeling we are living in a sauna.

   My wife and I took a leisurely ride on the side-by-side Sunday afternoon just to get out and enjoy nature. We first drove down to the front of the dam to look at the bees. They were busily bringing in pollen preparing for winter. The pollen was from the goldenrod that blankets much of the area with its bright yellow flowers. Past the dam and driving up the far hill, the trees are turning colors. With mostly oak, hickory, and walnut trees, we do not have the vivid splashes of colors of maples or aspen, but the muted browns and yellows show fall is rapidly approaching. Driving along the trail through the timber, we noticed tiny white flowers carpeting the way. A doe and her half-grown fawn casually moved off the trail to let us pass. From the tracks in the path, we could tell the deer are using the trails more than we are. Turkeys had been scratching in the leaves near the trail enjoying the abundance of acorns that had fallen from the overhanging oak trees.

   Riding deeper into the timber, we noticed assorted mushrooms had sprouted again after the recent rains. A fresh new chicken of the woods mushroom was growing near the trail. We stopped to look at it but will let it grow for a few days before we harvest it. The colorful mushroom will get much larger and should make several meals.

   Driving toward home across the dam, we were just in time to watch a flock of Canada geese flying in to rest on the lake for a few days. They and several other types of waterfowl are well into their annual southern migration. They are always entertaining as they come in over the surrounding trees, flair their wings, and drop to the water. Geese look so graceful as they glide in effortlessly. Other waterfowl, such as the teal, look like they are making a high speed crash landing when the splash down.

   Bluebirds and hummingbirds are forming their groups as they ready for migration. One day we had ten or eleven hummingbirds at our feeder. The next day they had all left. A few days later, another group of five showed up. We could tell these were not the same birds that had spent most of their summer here as they were much more cautious around people and the dog. I imagine this group had summered farther north and are stopping here for a break along the way. Flocks of bluebirds will fly in, stay for a day or two, and are off together on their way south. We enjoy this rare spectacle of thirty or forty bluebirds enjoying the bugs they find in the lawn.

   Each day gets a bit shorter, gradually cooler, and closer to the dreaded days of winter. While we can, we are enjoying the fall, the best time of year.

---