| THE EXQUISITE LANDSCAPE | |||||||
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| September 27 Spryfield - McIntosh Run - West Pine Island Pond - Herring Cove |
Starting in Spryfield, we walk along the McIntosh Run. Autumn is beginning to make itself felt in the vegetation. Other colours are beginning to replace green, as we see when we look closely at the plants growing on a granite spur that juts into the McIntosh Run. When we reach West Pine Island Pond and look south, we see that only a few of the trees are beginning to show bright autumn clours. This impression is confirmed when we look across at the eastern shore. In some cases the trees and ferns which are in view show no sign that it is autumn. It is warm and the sun is shining brightly when we reach Herring Cove, but these flowers growing on the bank of a pond do carry a hint of autumn. Walking back to Spryfield along the McIntosh Run, we notice that the shrubs and tamaracks are beginning to be tinged with autumn colours. When we are close to trees displaying mixtures of bright red and green foliage we experience vividly the distinctiveness of the beauty of early autumn. |
| September 28 Frog Pond - York Redoubt |
On a brightly sunny morning we walk around the Frog Pond. The coldness of the air, the mist rising from the water, and the presence of autumn colours amidst the predominant green, leave no doubt that it is autumn. Leaving the Frog Pond, we walk in the direction of York Redoubt. It quickly becomes warmer, and it becomes more difficult to remember that it is no longer summer. As we look across from a ridge near York Redoubt to the granite ridge that lies between Colpitt's Lake and Flat Lake, we notice a solitary scarlet maple, but this is not enough to convince us that it is autumn, if we know that the first maples change colour in late summer. In a nearby maple wood, it feels as if it is still summer. |
| October 4 Spryfield - McIntosh Run - West Pine Island Pond |
We walk along the McIntosh Run, starting in Spryfield. Today the skies are for the most part very dark, and this subdues the autumn colours. On the other hand the autumn colours are more extensive than they were several days ago. These two points account for the impact which West Pine Island Pond has today. Walking back towards Spryfield, we find that the sky brightens a little, but the impression created by the autumn colours along the McIntosh Run is very different from the impression created when the sky is blue. Within the deciduous woods some striking mushrooms are growing, and the newly tinged ferns and trees are very beautiful in the dull light. |
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