Fall Colors: Red

 I have been hoping that things will start to feel like normal one of these days soon. But I'm not so sure anymore. So I walk the woods and watch the colors and try to clear my mind. The world feels red hot and chaotic, but in the woods red is a calming, soothing color. Red leaves glow from across the lake, making warm reflections in the water. Red berries from Dogwood trees shine from branch tips, tasty meals for birds or squirrels. A handful of red Salvia blossoms linger after the first frost. Red mushrooms pop up after rain, only to be munched by the snails and slugs. Red Cardinals splash in the birdbath. Red Georgia clay, preferred building material for ants, is all over my hiking shoes and the floor of my house after the rains. The hot pink belly of an exotic Jōro spider hanging in her golden web with her mate, made it through the first hard frost. They won't survive the cold of winter, but their eggs will. Cedar Waxwings who arrive in huge flocks each fall, eat their weight in berries throughout the winter, their red wax tipped wings and yellow tails bright in the trees against a crisp blue sky. Fuchsia Maple leaves, changing from green to pink flash out along the trail like a beacon. Robin Redbreast is here for the winter and he brought a few hundred of his friends. A Red-tailed Hawk pair hunts from the top of a tower. Red leaves of Virginia Creeper climb a tree at the Nature Center. The brightness of red grabs my eye as I walk, pulling me into focus with nature and away from the worries of the world. Stay safe. Wear your masks. Be kind. 

Oakleaf Hydrangea leaf turning

Red Oak Leaves

Red, Red, Red leaves

Red Sweetgum Leaf

Brilliant Dogwood Berry

Scarlet Salvia flowers just before the frost

Red Mushroom munched by snails

Red Male Cardinal in the bath

Pink belly of a female Jōro spider and her mate who made it through the first freeze

Ant chambers in the Red Georgia Clay

Waxy red tips of Cedar Waxwing

Hot pink Maple

Robin Redbreast

Red Tail of the Red-tailed Hawk

Virginia Creeper climbing a tree