Signs of Fall

Here are a few signs of fall from a nature walk.

Usually the first thing to change around here are the staghorn sumac trees. Only a few of the leaves were red but in a few weeks the whole thing will be red.

Some of the maples are turning as well.

Hopefully this year all of them will turn at the same time.

Meanwhile on the forest floor some pale purple flowers are growing. I'm not an expert on wild flowers but I usually see these in fall.

The wild roses have produced rose hips. At this stage they are perfect for harvesting and making fresh rose hip tea, very high in vitamin c. You can also dry them for use later in the winter.

The recent rain has knocked the first of the oak leaves off the trees. Hopefully plenty of shrooms will be growing here by the time #fungifriday rolls around.

The lake is pretty full and it has created a nice mirror surface for reflections. Hopefully this tree will be colorful for a fall reflection shot like this.

This ancient shelf fungi has seen many different falls come and go. It even has a little helping hand twig to keep it in place in case a fat squirrel sits on it.

The trouble with fall here in Illinois is that it often brings gray cloudy days. This can be bad for capturing the colors of the trees. Hopefully there will be a few bright sunny days to capture all the color.

That's all for now, thanks for looking :-)