The Fall Forest

There presents to our delighted eyes
season-premature colour in the overall
canopy of deep green, as leaves have begun
their long descent on the early fall landscape.
The forest floor is rich and moist from a long
succession of rainfalls, and the rich hummus
resulting from seasonal decomposition.

Mushrooms have sprung up everywhere;
the small brown puff-spheres sending their
spores in a generous spray of brown mist;
the orange-peel brightness of others, the
shelf fungi with their concentric swirls,
the large yellow lethal amanita muscaria
platters, and chanterelles their edges nibbled
by squirrels. The dazzling-white delicacy
of coral fungi gracing decaying wood fibre.

The carillon-clear shrieks of bluejays ring
through the woods as goldfinches coyly
whisper their presence through branches
and a pileated woodpecker calls mockingly,
alights then thrums unresistant tree bark.
A flicker boldly proclaims his presence, careless
of our presence. The wind delights vultures,
careening on updrafts, their dihedral-shaped
pinions embracing the wide, blue sky.

There are yet blooms of purple asters and
goldenrod beside the woodland trails. The
tender pinks of wild geranium punctuate
the architectural green. In the folds of a bog,
ferns grace the arras in abundance, fireflies
resting on their fronds. There are pussy-toes,
their fluffy-white clusters astride the paths,
and the vibrant cherries of lethal baneberry
clamour for attentive admiration.

At Mulvihill pond the water ripples softly
in the pestering wind. Small leopard frogs
leap from rock deep underwater, cautious of
overhead warning shadows. Puffed white
clouds amble the wide expanse of azure
heaven. Orderly schools of minuscule fish
unison-flit around the lake perimeter. Tadpoles,
comically rotund, pose as lake ambassadors
below an aquatic garden of waterlilies.