This is the first day of autumn!  Another glorious day to start off, but now fading rapidly.  It's still pretty mild, though - still 60 degrees and it's nearly 6 o'clock.

We were back in our woods yesterday, checking for other down trees to find the best way for Johnny to come through onto our property to cut the big trees in back of our house and take care of the ones the wind took down recently.  We only found a few more victims of that last wind storm, but we got pictures of the tangle we had found a couple days ago that so surprised us.  We went directly from our lot to Don Encarnacion's, about midway of the hillside, and took pictures from where he's been working on Don's.  We're impressed with the view that has opened up.  The lot looks awful right now, but it's still an operation in progress, and even next spring, things will look much different. 

I need to explain about Mary Jane Junction, which I refer to in the slide show.  When Don and Mary Encarnacion came here in the 70's, they cleared trails throughout their property and Don made signs pointing the way and naming the paths so when anyone was walking there they wouldn't become lost.  Twenty or so years later when we came to live at my parent's house, we often walked to Don and Mary's through the woods.  We had our own paths, though not as neatly groomed as Don's, and where ours connected with his, he named "Mary Jane Junction."  

Yesterday when we walked out to the line between the properties, we could barely make out where our paths had joined.  For the past few years, none of us have walked there, so the trails have all gone back to nature. We both felt sad at the changes, but looking at it from another viewpoint, we saw evidence it has become a great animal habitat.  We saw where creatures had bedded down, made trails through the tall grass, and scarred trees with their antlers.  Even though we don't get into the woods to enjoy it as much as we used to, it's a haven for animals, and we appreciate that.

When you get almost to the end of the slides, you'll think there is something wrong because the trees are in horizontal position, but "don't adjust your set" - it's because they were all toppled down in a clump.    Unfortunately, we're expecting a similar storm tonight.  This afternoon the weather has changed dramatically, and right now there's an eerie quiet that is likely the calm before the storm, and there are gray clouds moving in our direction, blotting out the sun.  Predictions are for heavy rain and high winds by around supper time into the evening. 
 
At the end of our trek, we saw this uprooted cherry tree very near our house.  This had happened some time ago, but it obviously found a way to survive.  You can see how the tree curled and redirected, and the root system is nicely covered with protective moss, a perfect example of how nature heals wounds in the forest.  Life continues, one way or another, in spite of natural catastrophes or what we humans do to our environment.  It isn't always perfect, but it's remarkable all the same.

As we came out onto our lawn, we passed by a young maple that has beautiful color.  I've been watching it from the bedroom window, and within just a few days it has turned a lovely deep red.  Very pretty against the dark green of the soft woods behind it. 


We were in West Danville (below) this morning to do some errands and pick up the mail.  The store and post office seemed pretty busy.  I picked up a bunch more Ice-Out tickets and had some in the mail, too.  I also checked the list of who has taken the tablets to test their septic systems and I'm happy to report about 35 people have already taken them.  That's a good indicator folks around the pond are anxious to find out if their systems are operating properly and, hopefully, if they discover they aren't, they'll take steps to correct the situation. 

We took the next picture from George and Judy Anderson's, looking directly across the pond.  The water is a lovely blue on these nice sunny days, but the color in the trees hasn't developed much.  We have seen a few brilliant single trees along the roads, but it's still early and not at full color by any means.  Fall Foliage week is coming right up, October 1 - 6, starting with Walden, then Cabot, Plainfield, Peacham, Barnet and finally Groton.  You can find the complete schedule of events on the website.
Hopefully, the colors will change a lot by then, and it will be a beautiful fall.

On the way home from the village, we stopped to get a picture of the rock that did in two tires on Ray Rouleau's car a few days ago.  Apparently he met a car right on that curve and hit that piece of ledge when he turned out for it.  That has always been a really bad corner.  When we lived at camp people often came to our door in the winter asking to use the phone because they'd  skidded into the snowbank and needed a tow truck.  Sometimes they'd met someone and lost control, other times they were just going too fast when they hit that often icy spot where the ledge is.  I suspect it will be a major operation to remove that jutting piece of rock, but we'll see.  That particular spot is also one of the biggest mud holes in the spring, too.  The Cabot road crew put the cone there until they can get back to fix it.  That helps, but really that spot needs to be widened and straightened.  Actually, there are lots of spots on our back roads that are dangerous, but it costs lots of money to improve them. For now the best advice is, go slow and enjoy the foliage.