As I change the calendar page, it is clear we are in the midst of the transitions I’ve grown used to seeing happen. The long, beautiful light and shadows of November. Tamaracks turning gold on the edges of wetlands. Stars visible again in the early evenings and mornings.

The first ice on the birdbath, another sure sign, is undeniably challenging to any of the feathered visitors who want to bathe or drink—a problem “solved” by my pouring on a bit of hot water, at least for another week or two.

Even with many leaves already fallen, more—Oak, Tamarack, Chestnut, Norway Maple, and Gingko among them—are now in their color transitions and literally carpeting the ground underneath. As I walked around the neighborhood, I enjoyed looking at the variety of patterns and colors, all on their way toward winter.

These are all transitions I regularly see coming, and to some extent prepare for long in advance—be it to tighten windows, get a bit more wood in, empty hoses, etc. More challenging are the changes to these transitions, changes we are now beginning to see and acknowledge and understand—like the average first frost of the season happening a month later than it did when we moved here nearly fifty years ago. Or the rainfall and floods we had this summer, and the impact on all of life that evolved with relatively predictable transitions of the past.

These changes, coming quickly and surely, are much less clear than past transitions, but underway none the less. What will the transitions and patterns be in the future or will they even be recognizable?

03 Nov This entry was published on November 3, 2023 at 10:47 am and is filed under Ecosystem, Fall colors, Ice, John Snell, John Snell Photographer, Leaves, Photograph, Trees, Vermont, Winter, www.johnsnell.photography. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.