Take Time

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit
still and watch the leaves turn." ~ Elizabeth Lawrence

After the rain stopped this morning, I got out for a short walk. To the side of the cabin, I noticed the first tree showing any significant color change, a black gum, one of the earliest to turn. Its bright green leaves were morphing to crimson red, in stark contrast to the greens surrounding it. The red maples are beginning to be splotched with dots of red, too.

As I continued deeper into the woods, a vocal pileated woodpecker flew overhead sounding much like his cartoon cousin Woody Woodpecker. It is so comical to hear these over-sized birds' laughing calls. They're so loud that they drown out all the other woodland sounds. They're quite a funny sight to see, too. As they scoot up the old snags, their red tufted crests bob back and forth. They furiously hammer away at the dead trees seeking the insects and grubs burrowed inside to feed on, and their crests become frenzied blurs. The woodpeckers huge size and loud call make them the lions of their daytime forest canopy realm...that is until a hawk swoops through!