Autumn Preparations

            It be would hard for you not to notice all those pretty golden, red, yellow and orange trees out there. The farmers’ fields are all swathed in neat, straight rows, Halloween candy and costumes are popping up in all the stores and there’s a certain shiver in the air first thing in the morning.

            Guess what? It’s autumn! In fact it has been, officially, for several days, now. And the natural world is humming with preparations.

            Most creatures are doing at least one of the following.

             Migrating: One time, as we drove out to visit family in the country about this time of year, I thrilled to the sight of a large flock of geese rising into the air all at once and fly away. But before I could come down from that, here came another flock! And another! Now some ducks! Soon the sky was just speckled with untold numbers of birds of all kinds of species. I could believe our luck. We had just happened to hit the country on some sort of mass migration day. That’s a sight I’ll never forget. So watch for those tell-tale “vees” in the sky.

            Foraging: This is done by creatures, like the squirrel, who aren’t going anywhere, and therefore need a supply of food to last them all winter. They’ll tuck whatever nummies they can find into a secret den or burrow hidden in some cozy space somewhere. My Grandma said that she once saw a squirrel in her yard try running back and forth between the garden and the garage with things from the scrap plate she left out there. One such trip this little guy put on quite a show trying to run off with a whole chicken wing that was just about as big as he was! But he made it!

 

         

            Hibernation: When we hear this word, we tend to think of bears all curled up in their dens, snoring away. Actually, bears only semi-hibernate in that it is possible for them to wake up during the winter, although I wouldn’t suggest trying it. I hear they are a bit crabby when they’re disturbed, thus the old phrase “grouchy as an old bear”. Amazingly, they neither don’t eat a bite the whole time they’re sleeping, which is why their fall activities revolve around eating as much as they possibly can. They need that extra layer of fat to survive.

             Rutting: This is the rutting season for many of the hoofed creatures, including deer, moose, caribou and elk. The bucks are searching for mates to mother their calves. They do this in the fall, so the babies will be ready to be born in the spring. At this moment, however, it means the males are either fighting each other for females, or trying to attract the female of their choice. So if you’re in the right place, you just might be lucky enough to hear the haunting, beautiful mating call of the elk echoing through the forest, or you may even get the chance to see a spectacular antler-to-antler battle for a lovely doe. If you’re out there, however, please keep your distance. These animals can be pretty aggressive this time of year.

            Camouflaging: We saw a couple of jackrabbits in the park, last weekend, and they were already wearing little white boots. It won't be long before they're snowy white. I don't pretend to understand it all, but, somehow, the change in the length day, this time of year, triggers some sort of chemical reaction that causes their fur to become white. The result is, they are nearly invisible in a gleaming white snow bank. A handy trait to have for avoiding hungry coyotes. Yup. Mother Nature sure takes care of her own.

            So, get out there and enjoy this crispy, spicy season of autumn, because when it’s over, it’ll be a whole year before we have another.