Observations from Visit #4

Today, October 30, 2011 was an amazing day to make another visit to my field. While the weather was a bit cloudy and windy, the temperature was 54 degrees, and the length of day was 10 hours 24 minutes. To say the least, the weather was much cooler than it was the last time I made a visit to my field. God gave us a real gift with the summer-like temperatures at the beginning of the month, but now, it feels much more like fall. I just wonder how much longer the fall temperatures will last, though. This past week, one local television station released its winter forecast, and it sounds like the snow could start as early as mid-November this year. I hope there will at least be some snow on the ground for when I make a November visit!

One thing that I have continually paid attention to this season at my field is the change in the leaves on the trees. Many more leaves are now off the trees, and the ones on the ground have already started to fade and crinkle. It's kind of bittersweet  to see the colorful leaves fall and then have to decay. In terms of patterns, I've learned that the trees on the edge of a forest are the ones that tend to change color first. This is very true for my field as well. Many of the leaves still on the trees are either yellow or orange right now. Personally, I really like the yellow ones. I wish I had known this before, and I might still be able to find this out, but I'm wondering if some trees at my field change from yellow to orange leaves before falling. It's hard to know for sure because they started changing fairly late in the season. I will be sure to make a note of this next time I go. Some leaves are still green, which amazes me. They will probably change color soon just like the rest of them.

The water flow in the creek is still very steady; the noise is music to my ears. The squirrels were extremely busy; I saw at least four of them. A few people were at my field to go hiking, and I even took advantage of exploring some of the trails after I made my observations today. The dunes in this area are spectacular, especially right up against the lake.

Here is another photo from my field. Notice the change in color: