October 5

The notable climbers are conspicuous now, as their chlorophyll degrades with the waning light and cooler temperatures. The deep greens that served to camouflage them within the pines have faded, such that brilliant reds or yellows cast their presence in sharp relief.

In our front, an enviable poison ivy ascends one of the tall pines, unnoticed really for the past several months. Now, it is a scarlet like no other, rising upward close to the trunk in a way that makes the tree look as if it has caught fire from a distance. All the poison ivy plants have been changing, though the ground variety seem to go to yellow more than anything else. I’ve noticed that the climbers often tend to red, and I wonder if a difference in variety is to account.

Bittersweet leaves are also rapidly changing to yellow, and they too reveal their presence against the green background. Bittersweet seems to be in all places and mostly unwanted, beautiful in leaf color and later in berry but invasively choking all the while.

Notes:

Towhees still at feeder.

Cricket 57 chirps / minute  at thermometer of 50 degrees