by Curt Kovener
Whether it is old school Techni-color® or new school 4K high definition, autumn colors are abundant in the almost area of Jackson County. For the geographically puzzled that the is area that is almost to Lawrence County, almost to Monroe County, almost to Brown County, almost to Bartholomew County and thus almost out of Jackson County.
While tens of thousands of leaf lookers crowded the streets and State Road 46 in Brown County, the autumn color has come to us in Almost.
The early morning and late evening sunlight intensifies the subdued hues of yellows, muted orange and vivid reds and they are all counter-pointed by some still stubborn green leaves.
The drive back the half-mile lane is an ever-changing panorama palate passing by sassafras to maple to oak to yellow poplar and the highlights of red bud, dogwood, and hickory.
The various oak trees that shade the house have been giving up their acorns. Out in the woods this is a quiet natural event. But in the domicile there is the 24-hours a day initial hit of an acorn on the shingles followed by a bounce or two and the audible roll down the roof before a moment of silence and another hit and bounce on the deck.
Leaves accumulate on the rear deck and hide the lurking acorns awaiting a non-shoed foot to step on them resulting in a mildly painful foot jerk reaction. And with shoes it can be like a dangerous walk on marbles. The broom sends the leaves and fruit of the oak to the forest floor and a momentarily clean deck surface.
But the process must be repeated in the next day or two.
Fall brings some passing through feathered critters to the wilderness. There were good-sized ripples on the lake and a stealthy investigation revealed some coots and a pair of wood ducks dining on acorns at the north shallow end of the lake. And as I have already told you, we have a lot of acorns.
Deer like browsing on acorns though they must be stealthy like I was as Emma the Great Pyrenees is outdoors protecting her territory from all intruders. Coyotes, turkey, deer and those illiterate hunters who cannot read (or comprehend the meaning of) No Trespassing signs all get a gruff greeting and a chase by Emma.
There is a bit of conflict between the wilderness pets. Willow the cat likes this time of year as her black and brown tortoise-shell fur is camouflaged by the fallen leaves. And that helps her as she awaits birds that come to feed on the black sunflower seeds we put in the feeder. She considers the bird feeder a baiting station.
The conflict arises when Emma sees those invading seed stealers and rushes to the feeder barking to chase them off. Much to the consternation of Willow the cat.
So I suppose it could be said we have a G-rated action adventure feature in high-def color with surround sound playing now at the wilderness ultra-wide screen.
