Changing Seasons -- jcarolek

Seems the seasons are changing. I can feel the coolness in the air and the hickory nuts are, once again, bombarding me when I venture out in the woods. I collected a sackful today, the first of many, I am sure.



As I walked, I thought about these things that are so familiar and yet are forever changing.

The nature walk "boardwalk" that runs beside my property once was a lovely walk through the woods, over streams that feed the pond, and home to many varieties of plants, animals, birds, insects, and fish. Once upon a time, this boardwalk, which begins in the big neighborhood near my very small neighborhood and runs probably more than half a mile to its final destination, the pond, was neatly constructed, offering several benches along the way for those who traversed her a place to sit a minute and really enjoy this lap of nature.

Today, maybe twelve years after it was built, the homeowners association which once owned and cared for it has disbanded, and the boardwalk has fallen into a state of serious disrepair. No benches remain. Massive sections have been knocked out of the boardwalk itself and trees have fallen across it, breaking it or simply providing a new hurdle to those determined to walk the distance.

I took a walk, entering the boardwalk by crossing the marshy area which separates it from my property.



I still found a great deal of beauty in the walk, but I can also see, that without some serious attention in the near future, the boardwalk will die a slow death. Well, I suppose, that is the way of such things. We erect them, we find them delightful, we are diligent in their upkeep, even their improvement for a while.... and then we start to lose interest, or our attention is forced to focus on other "more important" things... and before long, the once lovely and familiar path, has changed forever. And we simply do not have the resources to bring it back to life. So, we just enjoy what is left, while we have it, and find other paths to follow as the once familiar one fades away.

On my way down to the pond, having returned from the man-constructed path to the one that nature gave me, I discovered several varieties of mushrooms.








I know nothing about these little gems but they certainly are photogenic! And when I got to the pond, I was rewarded with egrets, fish, and even a cottonmouth, making its way from the shallow waters to the shoreline.



And that sky... always that sky.



Yes, the seasons are changing. And with each season, I change a little too.