STICK SEASON

[ctyanky]

Hello all: Hard to believe but we are just entering stick season in Connecticut in my area. NW and NE full out in sticks, but we are seriously hanging on still to some fully leafed out trees, and I mean GREEN trees, like summer. The ones that were starting to turn so late in the season, and were once beautiful in past years, succumbed to the cold (our first frost arrived the the other day and some light snow in the hill towns) and basically crunched out and sailed away with the high winds into the wild blue yonder. As I mentioned before, my Norway maples in the back are still green, very unusual! My neighbors and I are still mowing green lawns as well.

I must say, stick season can be beautiful in itself. You can see far out into the woods and discover ancient stone walls criss crossing the fields or find ponds, lakes and streams, once hidden by the dense foliage. I love this time of year. It feels great to be out raking and enjoying the blissful sunshine on your face. Everyone is out in their yards talking about the weird foliage season this year and wondering why some of the trees are still full!

Even some waterfalls are more visible and appear in places where you may have driven by or hiked in the past and never noticed them. Hiking into the forest can open up the vistas more than ever now; I've discovered farms set up on hillsides that were once hidden in autumn. And the bugs are gone!!! This is the time to be outdoors and enjoy nature and that wonderful, musky smell of fallen leaves and the rich earth. It just feels so damn good!

Ah... stick season. I'm lovin' it. Cherish it before the snow flies!