October 30, 1980 - Fall: The Leaves Come Tumbling DownSECOND SECTION
The *Uffoth Titneg OCTOBER 30, 1980
Fall: The Leaves Come Tumbling Down
There is always something to do around
our place and this week it was reroofing
the garage. I remember, when it was last
done years ago, I thought, "There, this will
hold it for now!" But now is today -- 20
years later and it must be done. The
garage roof has a very low pitch to it and it
was surprising to see how much leaf, twig
and tree debris lay upon this almost flat,
white surface. To get ready I had to sweep
this all off so that the roofing material
would lie flat.
As I worked along the debris continued
to filter down. We tend to forget this
process goes on year round and are only
really aware of it during the fall months or
after a big storm, like we had on Saturday.
Even the squirrels dropped their nut shell
remains on the roof and I had to pick them
off as I worked along.
In the natural world this falling and
recycling is exactly how the forest floor
replenishes the nutrients taken from the
soil during each growing season. In other
countries man has recycled his garbage
for centuries and in our own future world
we too might well be involved in this.
A Different Perspective
Working with tar and roofing material
can be a messy business, but the roof is
done and it should hold for another 20
years ... I hope. Spending two days working
on a roof, one gets a perspective on how the
world is seen through a bird's eye.
A blue jay flew leisurely by at eye level
and seeing me in his world screamed an
alarm that changed his attitude and flight.
Our friend, the chickadee that visits our
feeder, was startled by my being among
the trees. How dare I venture from my
earthbound realm! Even the dog was
mystified when I called to him from above.
He couldn't locate me. After all that voice
had always come from ground level.
Our fall woods were starting to thin out
and some of our hickory trees actually had
lost all their beautiful color. Others still
clung to their yellow brilliance and literal-
ly glowed as the sun shone through them.
Slowly the curtain of leaves that surrounds
our house is lifting and I can see the
neighbor's lights in the evening. In the
distance I can see homes that are coming
into view for the first time since early
spring.
It's the time for shorter and cooler days.
The time when the green material in our
leaves has gone and thus brings out the
yellows and reds and browns that were
always there, but were blanketed by the
green coloring. It's when this green
coloring vanishes that we have the beauti-
ful fall colors we all know so well. As this
process in the leaves continues, the joint
where the leaf is connected to the limb is
sealed off so that when the leaf falls the
scar area is left protected. The leaf had
served its purpose, making food for the
growth of the tree. It had converted
sunlight into starch, a process we humans
with all our technology have not yet been
able to achieve. Now the tree will rest for
the winter and will await the return of
longer and warmer days ahead.
Food Stored For Winter
There's an urgency to this time of the
year. The birds that come to our feeder
dart in and out with their seeds. Some will
be eaten on the spot but most will be
tucked away under crevices in the bark of
a tree or a crack in the old pasture fence.
Any hiding place will do.
On the ground the squirrels are busy
hiding their nuts in the soil. How they pack
the dirt down over their hidden treasures.
The blue jay finds an acorn on the ground,
hops a few feet and hides it under a leaf,
only to pile other leaves on top of it, hoping
no one will see.
My wife comes in from the garden with a
dishpan full of green tomatoes. The big
ones will go on the shelf in the greenhouse
to ripen and be eaten later. The smaller
ones will go into green tomato relish, a
treat we will enjoy all through the year. I
finished putting the storm windows up,
along with their annual cleaning. All the
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plants have been taken in and are now
adjusting to their new winter home under
glass. We still have apples on the trees and
it seems that these last apples are the
sweetest of all. The golden and red
delicious and winesap are all that are left
and these too will soon be stored for
winter.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
CHICKADEE - -The favorite bird at our winter feeder is not only a
welcome visitor but a curious one as well. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
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