October 29

Not all is increasingly drab, despite my tone of yesterday. There are still striking colors amid the browns and faded greens, and these mid-autumn treasures remind us that there is yet beauty even as there is decline.

The bittersweet vines are losing their leaves, but the berries stand out nicely, making random patterns in the bushes that they climb or trailing shapes like beads on a string that wind up the tree trunks. The berry shells are starting to split, opening to reveal the bright red fleshy fruit within. They will remain this way for some time, and the drabness of the bare trees are offset by the pretty two-tone of the bittersweet strands.

Look now to moist lowlands to see winterberry. It is nearly impossible to overlook the bright red fruits, set in clumps close to the deep green of the bush, with leaves slightly oval and waxy, much in the appearance of holly. The berries are ripening now and will provide provender for the late autumn birds.

There is a spectacular group of winterberry now down by the roadside bog past Robinson’s. The greens of the wetland here have mostly faded, making the bush all the more outstanding.