Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Autumn Benefits

There is harmony in autumn and a lustre in the sky,
which through the summer is not heard or seen.
(Percy Bysshe Shelley)

Autumn or fall is a beautiful season: the tree's foliage shifts from green to shades of yellow, red and brown. And their fall to the ground form the most beautiful carpets. Many have written about the beauty of the season, but it's not just humans who love the autumn. Dogs laughingly play and sit and roll in the leaves. Lion cub with leaves on his head, reclines in his leafy blanket. Cat looks up into the sky as leaves land on his nose and ears. Little squirrel peers out from a wooden basket that blends with the fallen leaves. White puppy gleefully runs across the grass with brown-leafy-coverage.
(Author unknown)

Come Little Leaves
by George Cooper...submitted to me by Rosemarie

Come little leaves,” said the wind one day;
Come over the meadows with me and play.
Put on your dresses of red and gold.
Summer is gone and the days grow old.”

Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call,
Down they came, flitting one and all.
Over the meadow they danced and flew
Singing the soft little songs they knew.

Dancing and flying, the little leaves went;
Winter had called them and they were content.
Soon fast asleep in their earthly beds,
The snow laid a soft mantel over their heads.

An American poet, remembered chiefly for his song lyrics ~
many set to music by Stephen Foster.
He translated the lyrics of German, Roman, Italian, Spanish and French musical works
into singable English.

Fall is a spiritual season. Part of the tree dies in order to generate a more healthy version of itself for later in its life. We are observers of divine healing. (Anonymous)

Riddance of Evasive Plants ~ Fall of 2015
(Written by Richard Leitner... Hamilton Community News)

At-Risk Bobolinks Taking to Grass at Former Dump Site
The city built it and they came.
The former Upper Ottawa Street municipal dump is finding new life as a nesting spot for bobolinks after being seeded with prairie grasses, the threatened songbirds need to breed. Cynthia Graham, manager of the city's architectural landscape services, said an ecologist hired to monitor the impact of the new vegetation this summer, observed several bobolinks, including one breeding pair.”
That was pretty exciting for us,” Graham said, “It's hard to know
just how many pairs are there because they are elusive birds.
Sometimes, it's just a matter of whether you are there at the right time.”

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, bobolinks were added to the' Species At Risk Act' in Ontario List in 2010 because they could become endangered if no action is taken to protect their dwindling habitat.
Males are black with a white back and yellow collar
during the summer breeding season...but lose that plumage in the fall
when they more resemble the females which are tan with black stripes.

Work began in the fall of 2015 to remove invasive plants like the Manitoba Maple, Russian Olive and Buckhorn from the16-hectare dump's top and southern slopes to make way for the native grasses the ground-nesting birds favour.”

Graham said the city is required to monitor progress yearly for the next 3 years and then at regular intervals for the following 15 to ensure the habitat remains suitable. This includes ensuring invasive plants...and especially trees, don't once again take root in this grassland area.
Trees can start to grow and establish...
and those are considered barriers for bobolinks
because raptors, birds of prey on other birds,
sit on top of them,” she said.
Even erosion or anything like that can happen to a site
if you just walk away from it.”

Fall has always been my favourite season.
The time when everything bursts with its last beauty,
as if Nature had been saving up all year
for the grand finale.
(Lauren DeStepho, Wither)

Merle Baird-Kerr...written October 13, 2017
Comments appreciated: mbairdkerr@cogeco.ca or inezkate@gmail.com

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