One of the many joys of canine companionship is the walk my dog, Allie, takes me on every morning. We wander across hay fields and along various nature trails near our house in South Amherst. She mostly sniffs; I mostly observe.
While the summer drought has wreaked havoc on perennial gardens in the area, leaving once thriving plants shriveled and brown, plants out in the wild are alive wit fall color. They are, for the most part, better adapted to the vagaries of extreme weather conditions than their domesticated friends.
A walk on one of the many lovely public trails is a treat for the senses. One recent morning on the rail trail I was greeted by brilliant wands of goldenrod and purple asters. There are paler lavender asters, too, and clouds of tiny white daisies. Higher up are clusters of small red rosehips, vestiges of the fragrant wild roses of early summer.
In a neighboring meadow, milkweed has turned yellow and its pods have opened, letting loose clusters of downy white seeds. I saw lots of pokeweed, but birds had already eaten most of its rich purple berries. Delicate white Queen Anne’s Lace mixes with clear blue chicory at the meadow’s opening.
And the dread invasive bittersweet vine is, for better or worse, full of plump yellow globes, soon to open their yellow coats and reveal their fire-red berries that light up the tree canopy of New England.
I am generally unaware of spiders, but their ubiquitous handiwork is evident in the hundreds of dew-bedecked cobwebs shimmering in the sunlight. Highlighting otherwise invisible webs with morning mist is surely one of nature’s neatest sleights of hand.
Foliage is just beginning to give up its green for shades of gold and red. Poison ivy’s triple leaves are bright yellow; the five-leafed Virginia creeper, another ivy, is touched with crimson. Sumac leaves look like pointy red feathers.
In the Lawrence Swamp, sleek brown cattails are exploding into fuzzy fat clumps that look like molting birds. Canada geese glide through watery acres of blooming lily pads that provide floats for occasional frogs. The air is alive with the hum, croak and cry of the animal kingdom.
I don’t pick up all the scents that Allie does — thank goodness! — but the air is thick with autumn smells, including the dank odor of dead and rotting leaves and the muddy tang of the swamp.
But the most evocative smell by far comes from the rogue vines of Concord grape that weave through the trees. Its musky-sweet scent is as evocative, as redolent of memories, as Proust’s madeleine.”
Even if you don’t have a dog to lead you through the countryside, take a friend, or go solo. Make sure you enjoy the sights, sounds and smells along the way. They are fleeting pleasures, and a reminder that winter is on its way.
Although I usually dread winter weather, this year I say, “Bring it on!” We need all the snow Mother Nature can send us. I won’t mind being snowed in one bit. Neither will Allie. She will have her morning walk no matter what the weather.
Come celebrate the joys of autumn at the 82nd annual Harvest Festival. One of the longest running of its kind, the festival offers family fun, great food, local craft vendors, a farmers market, giant tag sales and so much more.
This year the festival takes place Oct. 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. both days. Admission to the festival is $5 and children under 12 are free.
The Harvest Festival is Berkshire Botanical Garden’s biggest fundraising event of the year. Volunteers are needed to help it run smoothly. Consider signing up for a four-hour morning or afternoon shift on Oct. 8 or 9. Volunteer privileges include free admission to the festival before or after your shift, priority parking in the volunteer lot and automatic entry in a prize drawing to win a $100 gift certificate for dinner at The Red Lion Inn.
To speak with the Volunteer Manager at BBG, call 298-3926, ext. 14, or email: cgrippaldi@berkshirebotanical.org.
Don’t miss the 22nd Annual Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton this Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 8-10.
The event presents visual art, music, demonstrations, themed exhibits, a benefit silent auction and a landscaped garden and courtyard filled with large-scale sculpture.
Founded by working artists, the event is a unique opportunity to experience an entire festival designed from an artist’s perspective. The festival showcases the work of an ever-changing selection of America’s most outstanding painters, sculptors and fine craft makers. It offers the chance to see the work and hear the stories of 250 extraordinary artists from 22 states, enjoy sensational cuisine by Northampton’s best chefs and catch live performances by acclaimed musicians.
Paradise City was named the “#1 Arts Festival in America” in 2008 by AmericanStyle Magazine. The festival is at the Three-County Fairgrounds, 54 Old Ferry Road, Northampton. Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. Admission: Adults: $13. Seniors: $12. Students: $8. Three-day pass: $16. 12 and under: free. Free Parking.
Mickey Rathbun can be readhed at foxglover8@gmail.com.