The Old Field Tree

October is a wonderful month for many reasons. The chilly weather, where it’s no longer sweltering hot, or too cold to be outside, but just right. The abundance of animal activity, migrating birds, busy critters such as squirrels and chipmunks, and loud corvids like blue jays and crows preparing for the upcoming winter. Perhaps it’s the change of the leaves, when the colors of fall really start to show. That’s what I love about October the most.

Moving to Vermont from the Midwest, it seems the seasons are amplified here, and fall is coming a bit earlier. The mountains are preparing for winter a couple weeks ahead of schedule. I don’t mind.

I started documenting the leaves changing since the beginning of the month. Most of the leaves that weren’t dry from the drought were still on the trees early in the month, but as time wheeled on, the wind began to blow away the leaves, little by little. Rainfall and bursts of wind cleanse the trees from the summers growth, and by the end of this month, there isn’t much left. I would imagine we have only a couple of weeks left of seeing the leaves on trees and bushes and all sorts of plants, as the wind will blow and bring the rest of the dying leaves down with it.