I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted! In the meantime, summer has slipped into Autumn, the moon has been full, birds are migrating and leaves are changing. Nature is always in flux, always working, always resting, always Being. 

This Fall seems to have such vibrant colors! It seems that the cold snap we had set the sugars and is helping to really make the colors pop! I went for a hike in the Albany Pine Bush on Sunday and I was amazed that the understory was a blaze of reds, orange, copper and yellow. The sumacs are such a deep burgundy! Virginia creeper is a lovely red. The Asian bittersweet (a really terrible invasive) is awash in yellow and soon its berries will be a vibrant orange. The maples are beginning to turn- there are some striking ones that are tri-colored now! I will have to wait a while for my favorite - the copper oaks that hold their leaves til the very end of winter.

Sumac is another favorite of mine. The leaves are so incredibly scarlet and the berries are great for tea and salad garnishes and rubs. Look for either staghorn sumac or smooth sumac (not the leaves, they are poisonous!). I like to find the berries of the staghorn sumac and put the seed head into a large cup, pour in boiling water for a tangy, earthy tea that is full of vitamin C. This year, I plan on using smooth sumac for the first time to see if I can taste a difference. Many people fear poison sumac, but the berries are grayish-white and the plant is found in boggy places. So if the berries are a flaming red - it's safe!

What is your favorite Fall activity?

 Photo courtesy of Tracy Watson