Fall changes this year were very unusual. Parts of the Thumb
had trees shedding early with no color. Many maple tree leaves
went from green to brown overnight then fell and left the trees
bare. The leaves had large black spots in the middle of each
leaf. Some experts declared the early shedding and black spots
were the results of the drought. Others speculated the phenomenon
was caused by a fungus or reaction to a foreign disease brought
ashore from one of the ships traversing the lakes. Yet another
opinion was the event was a sign of an early, severe winter
ahead.
The
only certainty regarding the falling leaves is — they
make a mess. Some folks raked daily, others (me included) waited
till they all came down. Those daily rakers made room for the
leaves from those who didn’t rake to fill their yards.
Of course, the big storm a few weeks ago really redistributed
all the leaves.
Blaming
the drought is becoming an excuse for everything lately related
to odd happenings in nature; from trees to
water, even
animals. Some of the deer herds seem extremely dark coated
while others are still very light. Perhaps because of the
poor apple crop the animals have changed their eating habits.
I’ve
seen deer in the open fields where sugar beets have been
harvested rooting around trying to dig up any that were
missed. Mother
Nature always seems to provide for her wildlife.
Drought
effects on the water are alarming as I, and many other news
media sources, have reported. Lake levels are
extremely
low. I’m happy to observe the lake levels seemed
to reach their lowest point and may be rising just a
little. The effects
of the massive storm, with wave heights over 20 feet
on Lake
Huron, had no effect on lake levels.
The
fish don’t seem to mind the low water levels.
Fall shiner runs in creeks and rivers came on time
and the fall
run of small perch seemed about the same as in the
past. Are the turkeys a lot larger this year? Seems like
it.
Speaking
of turkey — Thanksgiving is just around the
corner. Thank goodness the candy bellyaches from Halloween
have all but disappeared. I’m looking forward to fresh
pumpkin pie. As I see it, isn’t it the best way to end
a great turkey dinner? With the first snow arrival and the
feast not far off, we need to remember Christmas is approaching.
It’s not hard to do this because no matter what kind
of store you visit, you are greeted by the seasonal music.
Signs announce the number of shopping days left and notes are
received from credit card companies saying you can borrow interest
free and your payment won’t increase.
Hope
everyone has a great Thanksgiving with loved ones. I’ll
enjoy mine in the southland; but I’ll be
sure to tune in to watch the snow on the weather
channel.